Maps of Movies

The Handmaiden (2016)

Where The Handmaiden says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Korea's most Japanese mansion was filmed in Japan, while the tree in its darkest story grew on a Korean island

Scenes and places

Sook-hee arrives at the Kouzuki house

Sook-hee arrives as Hideko's new maid, secretly hired by the con man Count Fujiwara to push Hideko toward marrying him. A housekeeper walks her through the grounds and the house rules, and renames her Tamako.

Set in Kouzuki mansion — The mixed English and Japanese-style house where Hideko lives with her uncle.

A large estate that mixes an English-style main house with Japanese-style living quarters, run by a Korean man who has taken a Japanese name.

Filmed at Rokkaen (Moroto Seiroku Mansion), Kuwana, Mie (Mie Prefecture, Kuwana, Japan) — Exterior of Kouzuki's mansion; extra exterior details were added with CGI. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The night of the cherry tree

Hideko wakes from a nightmare and Sook-hee, the new maid, has to soothe her. Hideko points out the cherry tree in the yard and tells the story of her aunt, which hints at how much the house has damaged her.

Set in Hideko's bedroom and the yard — A bedroom reached by a staircase, with a cherry tree in the yard outside.

The staircase and bedroom were built as interior sets; the tree outside is a separate location.

Filmed at Sorokdo Hospital gardens, Goheung, Jeolla (Sorokdo, Jeolla, Goheung, South Korea) — The garden where the cherry tree of the aunt's story was filmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The reading in the library

Hideko reads aloud to Kouzuki's guests while Sook-hee watches, and the reading ends with the books being sold to the collectors. Kouzuki treats the books as his life's work, and Hideko is worn out by what the reading demands of her.

Set in Kouzuki's library — The library wing where guests gather to hear Hideko read and bid on rare books.

A private library wing where book collectors come to hear readings before bidding.

The asylum

Sook-hee arrives at the asylum, the place Fujiwara's plan named from the start. The doctors treat her as someone who needs locking up.

Set in The asylum — The locked institution Fujiwara planned from the start to send Hideko to.

A hospital for the insane, the place Fujiwara's plan names for the heiress.

Dinner at a high-class hotel

Fujiwara and Hideko sit down to a formal meal. He tells her about his past and proposes to marry her again.

Set in A high-class hotel — The hotel where Fujiwara and Hideko eat together.

A hotel the film only describes as high-class; no filming location has been found.

The cellar

Hideko fears being taken down to the cellar, where her uncle keeps his collection. It is the threat that has hung over her since her aunt's death.

Set in Kouzuki's cellar — The cellar under the mansion where Kouzuki keeps his bookmaking tools and torture devices.

A basement under the mansion; the film does not say whether it is a set.

Characters

• Sook-hee (Tamako) — A pickpocket hired to work as Hideko's maid.
• Lady Hideko — A Japanese heiress who lives with her uncle and reads to his guests.
• Count Fujiwara — A con man who plans to marry Hideko and commit her to an asylum.
• Uncle Kouzuki — A Korean man who took a Japanese name and collects rare books.

Questions answered on the map

• Where were the Kouzuki mansion and its cherry tree really filmed?