This is the true story of Kim Hee-ro and his fight for justice in Japan. On February 20, 1968, two Japanese gangsters were killed in a cabaret in Shizuoka, Japan. Kim Hee-개, a Korean resident of Japan, was accused of th crime. Kim held 13 people hostage in a nearby hotel, trying to have his story of constant intimidation and threats by the gangsters told, but eventually he was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Soldiers with the U.N. forces that entered Korea during the Korean War rape a village girl named Eon-rae. The villagers ostracize Eon-rae and her son. Unable to make a living, Eon-rae joins the brothel district that has been set up near the U.N. base on the other side of the river from the village. The war and the introduction of U.S. culture break down the social order of the village. After several village children have died, the villagers put the blame on the prostitutes. Eventually the villagers, unable to maintain the village, leave their homes one by one. Eon-rae and her son also leave
Failing to enter the university of his choice, a young man is forced to enter a local college, but a series of disappointments causes him to give up his studies and begin a life of aimless travel.
Wealthy Choi, owner of a small fishing fleet, dominates the economy of remote Nak-wol Island and rules over it like a tyrant. When his overfishing depletes the catches, Choi blames the water spirits which angers the local shaman. To earn more money, Choi becomes a loan shark, driving the villagers deep in debt. One resident, Jong-cheon, decides that he has had enough and starts to organize a rebellion