Iljimae's parents were killed due to a conspiracy when he was young. Many years later he became a chivalrous robber, robbing corrupt officials and helping the poor. He eventually manages in taking revenge for his parents' deaths. But the police start to chase him, and he hides himself at a gisaeng's house. The gisaeng was his ex-fiancee. She also lost her parents to a conspiracy. She begs Iljimae to stay with her, but he leaves to do what he has to.

A man called 'Tiger' slips into a Japanese camp to rescue the POW's. While escaping, the group discovers a bridge that is a weak link in the Japanese supply routes. Heedless of their own safety, they set about devising a plot to destroy it.

General Wang-gun marches on the capitol and overthrows the usurper Ku-jin who had slain the last king of the Shilla Dynasty. Wang-gun becomes king and begins a new era in Korean History--the Koryo Dynasty.

After Queen Shin is dethroned, a power struggle erupts among King Jung-jong's concubines who hope to take the queen's place. Song Min-dol, a eunuch who despises the way the court treats him, introduces his sister to the king in the hopes that she can claim the throne. However, he is unaware that by doing so, he has signed her death warrent and unintentionally causes the deaths of everyone he cares about

The poor farmers of Muju in Cheonbuk Province cannot get enough water to irrigate their rice. They attempt many times to build a canal to the Geum River, but fail each time. After the military coup of 1962 however, the government gives its full support and helps the villagers succeed

A generous businessman is betrayed by a jealous office worker when he marries another woman. The employee takes the company's secrets and sells them to the competition in an effort to destroy his happiness.

A platoon of South Korean soldiers find themselves cut off from their squad without communication. They are aided by an old man in a nearby village who did not evacuate his home.

His parents captured by the Baekje armies, prince Eo-jin infiltrates the enemy castle alone to seek revenge. His plot is ruined when he falls in love with a princess there and is forced to choose between betraying his parents and nation or the woman he loves.

Yong-cheol's plans to mary Ok-rim are destroyed by her parents who marry her off to Cheol-ju. Yong-cheol becomes powerful in the business world during the following years and he does his best to make life miserable for Cheol-ju and Ok-rim.

During the last days of the Yi dynasty, conflict arises between the China-leaning conservatives, and the Western-learning and Japan-leaning reformers over how to rule Korea in the future. The reformer Kim Okgyun helps persuade the king to announce Korea's independence, breaking with China. When a conservative agent informs China, Chinese troops enter Korea and end the reign of independence after three days.