South Korean series have long surpassed Asia. Today they are watched worldwide, from Europe to the US — and this is no longer a 'niche' hobby but a global cultural phenomenon. The Korean Wave (Hallyu) has brought not only BTS music and films by four-time Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, but also the series industry with its growing ambitions and budgets. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Let's clarify right away: South Korean studios very rarely disclose exact production budgets — unlike, for example, Hollywood. Most of the figures we found are data from industry sources, journalist estimates, words from the creators themselves, or inevitable leaks. Therefore, we will indicate where the source is particularly reliable and where the figures are approximate.

1. Moving

**Budget:** about 65 billion won (approximately $48 million)

The superhero drama on Disney+ about three high school students who only seem ordinary but actually hide their inherited superpowers, and their parents — former secret agents — became the most expensive K-drama in history. Director Park In-je mentioned in an interview the scale of production: according to him, he had never worked with such a volume of CGI — computer-generated images — on any previous project. The series includes over 7,000 computer-generated shots, with special effects handled by studios from nine countries. Cast: Han Hye-ju, Jo In-sung, Ryu Seung-ryeol, and others.

2. Arthdal Chronicles

**Budget:** about 54 billion won (approximately $40 million)

The first epic fantasy series in South Korea about the birth of civilization in the fictional land of Arth. Those familiar with Korean legends saw a reference to the myth of the founding of the first Korean state by the mighty Dangun. Filming took place in South Korea and Brunei, with large-scale sets built specifically for the project. Main roles: Jang Dong-gun, Song Joong-ki, and Kim Ji-won. According to Tatler Asia and South China Morning Post, for several years 'Arthdal Chronicles' held the title of the most expensive Korean drama until it was overtaken by 'Moving'.

3. The Silent Sea

**Budget:** about 40–43 billion won (approximately $34–36 million)

A historical drama about Korea in the early 20th century: a boy from a poor family flees to the United States, returns as a US Marine officer, and falls in love with an aristocrat involved in the resistance movement against Japanese occupation. According to the Korean portal NamuWiki, 30 billion won of the total budget — about 70% — was invested by Netflix. The crew used cinematic cameras and techniques atypical for television production. Main roles: Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-ri.

4. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

**Budget:** about 40 billion won (approximately $30 million)

A dark mystical thriller about a creature that has pursued a woman guilty of its curse for 600 years (she has undergone several reincarnations during this time). Again, a reference to Korean mythology: the film features bulgasal — legendary chimeric creatures that feed on iron and human nightmares. With such a premise, large expenses were inevitable — primarily due to special effects: the series is built on the concept of body transformation and a chaotic supernatural world that needed to be convincingly recreated. According to Dexerto and Preview.ph, the series is among the five most expensive in Korean television history.

5. Kingdom

**Budget:** about 35 billion won (approximately $26–30 million) total; about 3 billion won per episode

A zombie horror set in the Joseon era: the crown prince investigates the origin of a mysterious plague. Director Kim Seong-hun told Variety that he originally planned eight episodes, but due to budget overruns, the season was cut to six. 'Kingdom' largely set the standard for expensive historical Netflix content from Korea, and as the media wrote, 'the platform did not miscalculate with its first Korean series'.

6. The Surrender

**Budget:** about 35 billion won (approximately $26 million)

A crime drama about a Korean entrepreneur recruited by intelligence agencies to capture a drug lord who seized power in Suriname. The film is based on real events: there was a businessman who in the early 2000s created a massive drug cartel, establishing supplies from South America. Main roles: Ha Jung-woo and Hwang Jung-min. According to IMDb, the budget per episode was about 5.83 billion won — one of the highest among Korean series at the time.

7. The King: Eternal Monarch

**Budget:** about 30 billion won (approximately $22–25 million)

'Fantasy' romance: a Korean emperor from a parallel universe falls into modern Korea, meets a female detective — and, of course, we are told a love story between people from two different worlds. One of the most anticipated series of 2020 — largely due to Lee Min-ho's return to the screen after military service. The budget went into recreating those two parallel worlds, luxurious costumes, expensive cars, horses, and helicopters.

8. Sweet Home

**Budget:** about 30 billion won (approximately $22 million); about 3 billion won per episode

An adaptation of a popular South Korean webtoon: after the death of his family, a young man moves into a small apartment in a housing complex and discovers that the world is being overrun by monsters. Almost the entire budget went to CGI monsters — an unusually complex task for Korean series production. One of the directors is Lee Eung-bok, who previously worked on 'Descendants of the Sun' and 'The Demon'.

9. Squid Game

**Budget:** about $21.4 million (approximately 25 billion won)

The only entry in this list with an officially confirmed budget: the figure was disclosed in Netflix's quarterly report and later mentioned in a Bloomberg publication. Nine episodes cost about $2.4 million each — modest by the standards of major Western streaming projects. However, according to Netflix estimates, the series brought the company about $900 million in so-called impact value (social effect and influence power) and became the most-watched non-English language project in the platform's history. Most interestingly: the script waited for its adaptation for more than 10 years — studios called it 'grotesque and...'.