A man tries to raise his two sons and two daughters under some of the most adverse conditions known to man. The father operates a horse-drawn cart, but in a city that is modernizing after the destruction of the Korean War, automobiles are making carts obsolete. The children are experiencing difficulties as well. The eldest son has flunked the bar exam twice and is not hopeful of passing it a third time to become a lawyer. The eldest daughter is mute and married to an abusive husband. The younger daughter tries to pose as a rich university student to move up in life. The youngest son has a penchant for petty theft.

A young sailor arrives in Busan Harbour; an outrageous-looking, woolly bear of a man appears in downtown Busan with a shotgun over one shoulder, a heavy knapsack thrown over the other; a tough-looking young woman joins her friend in robbing a naïve fat man in a suit. The strands of character and story will slowly converge, well after the audience, tuned to the coincidences and mistaken identities of melodrama, has recognised that these three have a shared history and are fated to meet and reconcile.

Six-year-old Ok Hee is glad when Mr. Han comes to board at her house full of women. She plays messenger for Mr. Han and her widowed mother as they quietly fall in love, but is her support enough to guard their love?

A young man is in love with a waitress, but his father opposes their relationship. The father approaches the waitress telling her that if she truly loved his son, she would abandon him. She submits to the father's wish, though she is dying from tuberculosis.

King Sukjong exalts a greedy concubine to the status of Bin, which is next to that of the Queen. The new Bin, who is now called Jang Hui-bin, drives out the Queen through a coup and takes her place. But thanks to loyal court officials, the King finds out what has been going on. He demotes Jang to Bin again and reinstates his Queen. Jang, now vindictive, conspires with her mother to kill the queen and reclaim her place. But the conspiracy is brought to light, and Jang is executed.

An educational film, created with the support of the Governor General of Colonial Korea to encourage ginseng's cultivation.

Dr. Nam, in his will, requests that his eldest daughter, Jeong-hui(Choe Eun-hui), marry a painter named Dong-su (Nam Gung-won). Jeong-hui is at risk of losing her house due to her father's debt, and a young physician Sun-cheol (Kim Seok-hun) who received his college education with the financial support of Dr. Nam, helps her by selling his own house. Despite his love for her, Sun-cheol cannot express his feelings because he knows of the request in her father's will. When Jeong-hui looks for a job to support her family, Bang, whom Dr. Nam once cured, offers her a position of saloon madam. Meanwhile, her younger sister Myeong-hui (Choe Ji-hui) promises Dong-su her hand in marriage. Jeong-hui, now running the saloon, wishes them happiness. It is only when she gets a proposal from Bang and decides to accept it that Sun-cheol confesses his love for her. Moved by Sun-cheol's true affection for her, Bang gives her up, and Sun-cheol and Jeong-hui exchange vows of marriage.