In the latter years of the Korean Empire, Lee In Hwa, disguises herself as a man so she can join a group of young men determined to overthrow the colonial government. They fight together with young national activists presided by Hwal Min and supported by Daewon-gun, the Prince Regent, against Min Gyeom Ho and his peers. But Min and his team perform a surprise attack on Hwal Min and his peers.

A brigade of five marines are sent on a dangerous mission to capture an enemy stronghold during the Korean War.

The story takes place on a mountain slope where defectors from North Korea live. These families sell cheap things such as socks and pens to make a living and there is a serious gap between the parents and their children. A widower Kim Deok-sam nags his son Geo-buk to join the American army. Ok-Mae who lives next door teaches her daughter Bok-soon traditional Korean folksongs and forces her to become a gisaeng.

Eun-hie takes advantage of Mr Choi, squeezing as much money as she can from the wealthy man. However, she starts craving true love and turns her attentions to gentle, but married, Mr Ahn

The wife of a painter complains that her husband ignores her whenever he is working on a picture. One day her husband unexpectedly goes to Paris to study and when he returns he works all the more. His wife sleeps with another man out of frustration and anger, but when she sees that her husband's painting is of her as a model of purity, she decides that she cannot go on.

A communist, No Neun-geol, tries to upset the public sentiment. Noticing his intention, a village youth, Choe Mu-ryong, steals into the communists' hideout and succeeds in fitting a time bomb with a box of death. However, before he escapes from their hideout, he gets caught up and after undergoing several dangerous moments, he manages to run away. Shortly after that, the bomb explodes, killing all the communists.

Artist Kyeong-pa is asked by the father of a dead girl to paint a portrait of the man's daughter to put her soul to rest. But whenever the artist tries to paint it, a different woman appears on the canvas. The image always takes the form of a woman whom he loved but has also passed away. The ghost of the man's daughter is not very happy that her painting has not been finished and makes her wrath known.

During the later years of Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), a talented martial artist is murdered. His resentment makes him born again as Bulgasari, a monster that grinds and eats up iron. The monster takes his revenge on the traitors responsible for his death.

Two brothers—Chul-ho, an accountant with a toothache and a pregnant wife, and Yong-ho, an unemployed ex-soldier wounded in battle—navigate life in post-war Korea.