In Japanese-occupied South Korea, a young man, newly-released from prison, is accepted into a gang for his fighting skills and quickly rises to the top. Based on the life of South Korean mobster and politician Kim Du-han.

Upon being released from prison, Kim Du-han begins rebuilding his street gang in the face of Hayashi's Yakuzas and increasing Japanese influence.

Following the final events of General's Son 2, Kim Du-han is forced to go on the lam but eventually returns to Jongro where he attempts to rebuild his gang with the brothers that are still alive and loyal and defeat Hayashi's Yakuzas once and for all.

The 1930s. Wishing to pass down his knowledge, the father teaches his children to sing Pansori. The elder daughter and the younger son become professional singers but time has changed and people are no longer interested in folk singing. The younger boy gives up on his studies and runs away from home. Fearful that the daughter might do the same, the father blinds her. The blind girl continues to practice with great diligence and achieves perfection in this art. Years pass, the brother is roaming the world in search of his sister and eventually finds her. All night long they sing together sharing their memories.

Two Korean college graduates arouse the suspicions of Japanese authorities after modernizing a rural community with a school and a youth hall.

Jong Sil, a sound effects director, is awarded a carte blanche for his ingenious invention of a coke bottle opener sound used in a commercial film for an Arab client. Ecstatic, drunk, he heads home to his wife and kids, only to end up spending the night in an apartment unit one floor above which belongs to a single woman. The preposterous one-night-stand snowballs into a major event, for which he is reported gone missing on TV. Lost, Jong Sil becomes more involved with the woman, discovering things about her, as their relationship takes an unexpected turn.

Bong-su, who has been missing since the Korean War, returns to his hometown. A death notice for him has already been sent to his hometown, and his fiancée, Jeong-sun, has already married another man, Sang-ho. Bong-su tries to persuade Jeong-sun to forget about Sang-ho and return to him, but she tells him that it's something that cannot be undone. Tormented by his pain, Bong-su begins to show signs of delusional behavior and ends up strangling Jeong-im, Sang-ho's younger sister, who had a crush on him. Later, it is revealed that the death notice for Bong-su was a fake, created by Sang-ho so he could marry Jeong-sun.

Deok-bo intends to fight his Eun-swi for the love of Bon-hie, but he is impressed by his rival's manly strength upon meeting. They become very close friends. Bun-hie, who was hoping to make Eun-swi an upstanding citizen is furious that he now spends all of his time Deok-bo. She decides to murder her former admirer-turned-rival.

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.