Lee Byung-Hun Bridges Korean Cinema And Hollywood (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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KPop Demon Hunters has become a runaway success on Netflix and at the box office, making it the most successful film ever released on the streaming service. Among the prominent actors featured in the movie is Lee Byung-hun, a major name in South Korean film and television who played the main villain, the demonic Gwi-Ma.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lee Byung-Hun has a net worth of $20 million. Lee’s wealth is attributable to his massively successful career both in South Korea and internationally. He was a major star in another Squid Game, the most successful Netflix series.
Lee Byung-hun Is Worth $20 Million
Lee Byung-hun first rose to fame in South Korea with his breakout role in the 2000 film Joint Security Area, directed by Park Chan-wook. Following this success, he appeared in notable Korean productions such as Beautiful Days and All In, even promoting his work through a tour in Japan. He later transitioned to Hollywood, gaining international recognition for his role as Storm Shadow in the 2009 live-action adaptation of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
In 2009, Lee made headlines for reportedly earning around $74,568 per episode for his leading role as NSS agent Kim Hyun-jun in the 20-episode espionage drama Iris. The series became a major hit in South Korea, prompting him to reprise the role in a 2010 film adaptation.
In 2012, he starred in the South Korean historical drama Masquerade, which became one of the country’s most successful films and drew record-breaking theater attendance. Lee returned to Hollywood in 2013 as Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. He continued with high-profile projects, including Red 2 (2013) and The Magnificent Seven (2016), further establishing his global presence in action and period films. Lee would make his comeback in Korean television with 2018’s Mr. Sunshine, for which he was paid $134,700 per episode, totalling around $3.2 million in earnings. Aside from his lucrative acting career, Lee Byung-hun has also done endorsement deals with Prada, Sony, Paradise Casino, and the Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre.
However, Lee Byung-hun’s biggest success would come in 2021 when he starred as the Front Man in Netflix’s massively successful Squid Game, which became the most-viewed series in the streaming service’s history, with 1.65 billion hours viewed during the first four weeks, per Variety.
This, combined with his role on Kpop Demon Hunters, shows that Lee Byung-hun has starred in both Netflix’s most-watched series and most-watched movie.
Beyond his remarkable film and television career, Lee Byung-hun has also contributed to promoting South Korea globally, serving as a California tourism ambassador and honorary ambassador for the Association of Film Commissioners International. His efforts off-screen, combined with his diverse and acclaimed roles on-screen, highlight his talent and his commitment to bridging cultures and inspiring audiences worldwide—a true testament to his status as one of South Korea’s most influential and respected stars.
