The populace of a South Korean island rebels against police brutality. The protesters are labeled as communists, and the army is dispatched.

Yeong-joo, a former synchronized swimming athlete goes to Jeju Island to put together a synchronized swimming team for a performance. She slowly befriends the haenyeo, or female divers, and gradually begins to fit into their way of life.

An old man living on the island of Mireukdo lives a self-sufficient life, adhering to ascetic principles typical of a monk. Now and then the phone rings and shortly thereafter a visitor arrives; the old man dutifully prepares rice cakes for them. The cakes are the last meal these visitors will eat before embarking on the seemingly long journey to the next world. The first to arrive is an angler, then a rat, and the last a teacher and two students.