A woman is in domestic service after going up to Seoul. She loves a university student of a rich family and gives birth to a baby. But his parents object to their marriage, so she becomes a butt for laugh. At length, the parents get impressed by her good nature and allow them to marry.
The story takes place on a mountain slope where defectors from North Korea live. These families sell cheap things such as socks and pens to make a living and there is a serious gap between the parents and their children. A widower Kim Duk-sam (Kim Seung-ho) nags his son Geo-buk (Shin Seong-il) to join the American army. Hwang Jung-soon who lives next door teaches her daughter Bok-soon (Um Aing-ran) traditional Korean folksongs and forces her to become a giseng (Korean geisha).
Mr. Park raises his children by repairing charcoal pits. Although ignorant and stubborn, Mr. Park has a good heart. He is displeased, however, with his eldest daughter, Yong-sun (Jo Mi-ryeong), because of her close relationship with Jae-cheon (Hwang hae), who is a scamp in his eyes. He is also unsatisfied with his second daughter, Myeong-sun (Eom Aeng-ran), for liking Ju-sik (Bang Su-il). Only his eldest son, Yong-beom (Kim Jin-gyu), is the apple of his eye, as he approves of his son's wife, Jeom-rye (Kim Hye-jeong). When Yong-beom is sent to a foreign branch office, Mr. Park is against it at first but approves of it, as he knows what it means for his son's future. Eventually, too, he begins to approve of his two daughters' relationships.
Would-be feminist Yoanna, running her own company, is insulted in a phone booth by a stranger named Yong-ho. While searching for a job, Yong-ho applies to a magazine named 'The Modern Woman,' not knowing that the company's boss is in fact Yoanna. She hires him with the intention of paying back the humiliation she received. But his masculine attitude captivates her and she ends up marrying him. She resigns her post and becomes a housekeeper, handing over the company to her husband.
