Netizens talked about the performance fees of some of the highest-paid actors and actresses.

On a community forum, netizens discussed the pay rates recently reported by media outlets. Shedding light on some actors and actresses in K-dramas, the rates stunned many audiences, as the rate has hiked enormously since 2001.

(Numbers are in ten thousand KRWs. In the chart, the highest number -- 250 million KRW -- was for actor Bae Yong Joon in 'The Legend')

According to the chart, the fee that both Lee Jong Suk and Lee Seung Gi received for their dramas ('While You Were Sleeping' and 'A Korean Odyssey', respectively) amounted up to 120 million KRW (about 120K USD) per episode. Compared to the fee that actress Kang Soo Yeon received per episode for her 2001 drama 'Ladies of the Palace', which was about 5K USD, the rate for actors today had risen to exorbitant figures.

Actresses today, on the other hand, also received more than double of what actresses used to be paid, but their rates had some notable differences compared to actors. For example, Suzy, who played the female lead with Lee Jong Suk in the same drama, was paid about 80K USD per episode. Actress Go Hyun Jung was also paid the same amount for her 2018 drama 'Return', before leaving the drama due to a conflict. 

Some top-voted netizen reactions include: "I don't understand why celebrities get paid that much money.... before you give them money, raise the wages of the staff members who would give up their lives.", "I wish these celebrities would earn less and take better care of staff members' monthly wages that always get pushed back...am I the weird one for having that kind of mindset? lol", "But honestly, are their acting skills worth that much?", "I'm sorry but why is Lee Jong Suk's fee higher than Suzy?...(omitted)...", "If they get paid that much per episode, then how much do they get paid all together??"