Director
Minister Min Yeong-hwan (Kim Dong-won) fears that Korea will cease to exist if the Japanese continue to gain power. He advises King Gojong (Lee Ryong), to expand the army and reform the education system.
At the end of the Joseon Dynasty, shortly after the Eulsa Treaty has been forced to be concluded by Ito Hirobumi and the pro-Japanese courtiers, Japan pressures King Gojong to step down from the throne. Meanwhile, An Jung-geun, who is cultivating men of ability at Samheung school, is deeply impressed by a speech made by An Chang-ho, and heads for Russia to volunteer the army fighting for independence of the country. As both a lieutenant general of the Korean militia and a commander of the Korean expeditionary force in Manchuria, he carries on the independence movement in defiance of Japanese coercion.
Three men who have been taken to the compulsory labour under the Japanese colonialism turn back to their hometown, a fishing village. They break the injustice and corrupt customs and rebuild the devastated village with the help of the village girls.
Two Korean conscripts undergo Imperial Japanese Army training, much to the pleasure of their families.
A whaling vessel hunts its quarry on the open sea while its crew undergoes many hardships. During the course of their journey, they dream of their wives and families and pray for the chance to provide for the loved ones and nation.
Volunteer
Lieutenant Yoshida
A Japanese-speaking family in occupied Korea deal with the war.