…in wages…Is it fair?

Actor Lee Byung-hun is reportedly being paid 100 million won (85 thousand USD) per episode for his role in “IRIS,” a popular hit drama on KBS.

As a well known Hallyu star, the 100 million won performance fee is the third highest in the Korea’s drama history. Bae Yong-joon, another hallyu star, topped the list of drama fees with 250 million won per episode for his appearance in the MBC drama “The Story of the First King’s Four Gods” in 2007. Park Shin-yang came in second.

As a general rule of thumb, the association of drama producers regulates performance fee at below 15 million won per episode. However, the association stated that Lee’s high performance fee was an exception because of overseas copyrights.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-hee, who is playing the role of a female agent in “Iris” opposite Lee Byung-hun, is being paid a measly 20 million won per episode.

What do you think?

Is Lee Byung-hun that much more popular to be making 80 million won more than than Kim Tae-hee?