(OSEN)

Iconic hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun reportedly earns just under $40,000 for each fan meeting he holds in China, a local newspaper reported Tuesday.

Being one of the top stars in China, he gets as much as $450,000 for appearing on Chinese reality shows. But the payment for his fan events seems unreasonable, compared to his sensational popularity as a hallyu star. But why?

“Kim understands what fan meetings are for,” said an industry insider in an interview with the daily. “If he gets too much money, the ticket price would be increased, which would have to come out of fans’ pockets.” The star only gets $40,000 for fan meetings, almost half of what other stars make for theirs.

Another official also praised the star, saying, “Kim’s aware that the event might suffer in quality if he tries to make a fortune out of it. He wants to make these events as small as possible, but with high quality.”

Kim Soo-hyun, meanwhile, is slated for a silver screen return with the upcoming film “Real,” sponsored by Alibaba pictures.

By Ko Ji-seon (jiseonko@heraldcorp.com)

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