← KoreaAPI · verifiable K-culture data

The Handmaiden 아가씨

About

The Handmaiden (Korean: 아가씨; RR: Agassi; lit. 'Lady') is a 2016 South Korean erotic historical psychological thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Park Chan-Wook and starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong. It is loosely based on the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh author Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese rule, where a Korean girl is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a countryside estate. The Handmaiden was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Description via Wikipedia (lead extract) · name cross-verified Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Verified facts

The Handmaiden (아가씨) — verified Korean film. Released 2016-06-01. Directed by Park Chan-wook. 6 verified cast.

Details

• Runtime (min): 145
• Genre: drama film, romance film, LGBTQ-related film
• Original language: Korean, Japanese
• Awards: CST Award of the Technical Artist
• Korean Title: 아가씨
• Romanization: Agassi
• Year: 2016
• Director: Park Chan-Wook
• Festival: 2016 Cannes Film Festival
• Title: The Handmaiden
• Country: 대한민국
• Based On: 세라 워터스의 소설 《핑거스미스》

Source reconciliation

• Wikipedia lists the Korean name as 아가씨 (영화); KoreaAPI uses 아가씨 (chosen by source authority).

Independent sources disagreed here — shown, not hidden.

Cast (6)

• Kim Min-hee
• Kim Tae-ri
• Ha Jung-woo
• Cho Jin-woong
• Moon So-ri
• Kim Hae-suk

Director

• Park Chan-wook

Q&A — what agents ask

Cross-checked by 3 source(s)

• Wikidata — structured open knowledge base · view ↗
• Wikipedia — encyclopedic article · view ↗
• TMDB — film/TV community database

Verification history

Verified & tracked since 2026-08-15 · 90 verified snapshots.

Append-only, timestamped — the record of WHEN a fact changed, which a latecomer cannot backfill. Full feed: /changes.json · machine-readable: get_history("film:thehandmaiden").

Verified badge

Embed it — the badge shows this entity’s verification tier + Skill Score and links back here (a “via KoreaAPI” citation):

<a href="https://aiagentlabs.co.kr/artist/thehandmaiden.html"><img src="https://aiagentlabs.co.kr/badge/thehandmaiden.svg" alt="Verified by KoreaAPI"></a>

[![Verified by KoreaAPI](https://aiagentlabs.co.kr/badge/thehandmaiden.svg)](https://aiagentlabs.co.kr/artist/thehandmaiden.html)