Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was under the rule of Japan. The decades of ‘Japanisation’ saw Korea become the second-most industrialised country in the region, the creation of possibly-fake Japanese-Korean regions (notably Mimana), the destruction of the Korean royal palace Gyeongbokgung and, during the final years of Japanese rule, tens of thousands of young Korean women being enslaved as ‘comfort women’ for Japanese soldiers (please note: this piece is written by a British man with an at best pedestrian knowledge of Japanese-rule Korea. Read up on it if you want a fascinating deep-dive!). It is in this world that Park Chan-wook and regular co-writer Jeong Seo-kyeong brings us the story of handmaiden Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri) and her lady, Hideko (Kim Min-hee). Continue reading The Handmaiden: A Lesbian Con-artist Masterpiece