Ku Hye-sun earns steady income from patents and music copyrights

Actress Ku Hye-sun revealed that even after virtually suspending her acting career for approximately nine years, she continues to generate steady income through intellectual property (IP), including music composition and patents. Her journey of expanding her creative domains into art, film, music, invention, and academia—rather than remaining confined to acting—is drawing renewed attention.

On the 27th, Ku appeared on the official YouTube channel of the Presidential National Intellectual Property Committee to discuss her creative activities and IP rights. The video captures her recent evolution from actress to painter and film director, and now to patent holder and entrepreneur.

Currently, after completing a master's program at KAIST, Ku is preparing for a doctoral program. Alongside her studies, she is venturing into the business sector by launching a "unfolding hair roller"—a product based on a patent she registered.

Regarding her invention, Ku explained, "The requirement for my undergraduate graduation was to file a patent application." She noted that the product was designed to reduce plastic usage by approximately 80% compared to existing round hair rollers and has even received venture company certification.

She emphasized the value of the IP she has accumulated over a long period rather than the patent itself. "While I haven't generated substantial profits from running a film production company, it served as a precious foundation for handling a single IP," Ku said. This signifies her strategy of expanding the experiences gained from film production and creative work into tangible assets.

In particular, she cited her music composition as an unexpected source of income. "In addition to invention patents, I have been quietly active as a composer, steadily earning copyright income," she revealed.

She introduced herself as a "new age composer who has registered 58 songs over 20 years." She explained that while she does not earn revenue through the music release chart rankings of specific singers, the nature of her instrumental tracks and background music allows for continuous copyright royalties as they are used in broadcast programs, cafes, and hospitals.

"Copyright income is generated steadily every month, and the monthly settlements are meticulous," Ku added. She explained that rather than being content that is released once and consumed, the structure of copyright allows her creative activities to convert into consistent economic assets.

Such moves align with the multifaceted creative career Ku has maintained for a long time. Since becoming known as an actress, she has expanded her scope to film directing, screenwriting, art, and music. While her image as an actress remains strongest to the public, her field of activity as a creator has never been limited to acting.

She has built her name as a creative brand by directing films, writing screenplays, and showcasing artworks through personal exhibitions. Recently, by expanding her interests into science and technology through her studies, she has also been exploring new forms of creation that combine art and technology.

The final goal Ku presented is unexpectedly modest yet long-term: "living a comfortable and abundant life in old age."

She emphasized, "Even if I don't have real estate like buildings, I am steadily accumulating IP so that I can simultaneously achieve the mental pride that my created intellectual property is a reliable asset that protects me, and material stability."

This approach differs from the general view that evaluates a celebrity's economic success solely by real estate or business scale. Ku's strategy to accumulate rights to her own music, inventions, and content serves as a long-term economic foundation, treating creative labor as a sustainable asset rather than a one-time consumer good.

Ku has been taking a break from acting since her last project, the 2017 MBC drama "You Are Too Much." Since then, although she has appeared on screen less frequently, the period has not been a void in her creative life.

Rather, after stepping back from acting, she has subdivided her focus into academia, art, music, film, and patents. She has walked the path of a multifaceted creator that is difficult to define with the single title of "actress."

This explains why her recent status cannot be described simply as an "acting hiatus." For Ku, the past nine years have not been a gap in activity, but a period of expanding the scope of intellectual property she can build under her own name.