Mass starvation and social disorder is the norm in the wake of the Korean War. Hwa-su works as a gofer at a local theater but dreams of owning one day a theater of his own. As an adult, Hwa-su becomes a protege of powerful businessman Sohn Jong-rok and marries his niece thus becoming an heir to Sohn's business. He takes over the Je-il Theater and re-names it Peace Theater. Achieving his childhood dream is the just the beginning for Hwa-su. He ventures into the world of filmmaking. Meanwhile, crime lord Lee Jeong-jae takes Yu Ji-gwang under his wings and partners with Gwak Young-ju to build his own political clout. But when his ardent supporter Lee Gi-boong loses the vice presidential race, Jeong-jae becomes nervous. Hwa-su, now a man with immense wealth and underworld power approaches Jeong-jae and Ji-gwang to form an uneasy alliance and enter the world of rigged elections and corrupt politics.

Kang-wook, a law student at Seoul National University, finds himself in a tight spot financially after losing contact with his family in North Korea. He sells his own blood at a hospital to make ends meet, and there he meets and grows close to nurse Jin-young. As Kang-wook faces financial difficulties, Ki-yong, a son of a landlord's agent, appears and tricks Kang-wook into joining left-wing activities. Ki-yong's true identity is revealed by Yoon-ae, a friend from hometown, leading to his arrest. Meanwhile, Kang-wook and Jin-young marry with the blessings of Professor Park and their friends, while Kang-wook's friend Do-hyeon struggles to hide his feelings for Jin-young. Their sweet days together come to an end with the outbreak of the Korean War, separating them. Jin-young, unable to wait for Kang-wook any longer, decides to flee the war with Do-hyeon. Kang-wook, hiding at Yoon-ae's house, is eventually arrested by Ki-yong and the leftists, who had been freed from prison.

A monk rapes a beautiful young woman who visits his monastery. He quits the monastery, marries the woman, and they have kids. But she despises him all the while and devotes herself to tormenting him.

Jeon Woi-ja, the wizard, uses evil spirits to serve his selfish desires. He opposes the Gang-si (frozen corpse) training center, Bubekjang Center, which educates wandering spirits and sends them away. Woi-ja picks the most evil corpses and sends them to the center in hopes of ruining it but without success. When his evil amulets fails to work he chants the eight signs of divination in hopes of getting rid of the gang-sis. But the gang-sis band together to fight Woi-ja and succeeds in reforming him and guiding him to a better path.

A mildly tragic story of how the Vietnam war has bad and good ramifications on the characters lives.