Jeom-rye works as a sharecropper to make a living for her good-for-nothing husband and her son Yong. But the village men are always trying to seduce her. When she rebuffs her landlord's advances, she is wrongly accused by his wife and is forced to leave. Sam-su, the servant who is smitten with her, offers to lend her husband, Deok-hi, money for her affections. Deok-hi tries to sell her off to Sam-su but Jeom-rye gets him arrested for trafficking humans. Sam-su realizes Jeom-rye's sincerity and drops the charges and Deok-hi repents his ways only too late. He dies of an illness. When her son Yong dies from indigestion after eating rice cakes, she goes off the edge.
The film centers on independence and intelligence of a woman who makes active choices regardless of social norms and ethics. The main character is a divorcee, Eul-hye, and the story unfolds as she encounters different men and experiences with dramatic incidents and conflicts.
Ae-shim, a waitress, meets Yun-gu and ends up living with him at a rest area restaurant by the industrial highway. However, Yun-gu treats Ae-shim badly. One day, the vagabond Jun-tae shows up in front of Ae-shim. He seduces her and they plan to kill Yun-gu and get his fortune. But Yun-gu catches on to Ae-shim's betrayal and plotting. He still loves her though. Yun-gu decides that the only way he and Ae-shim can be together forever is to die together. Yun-gu pretends to be a pawn in Ae-shim's plans but then leaps off the cliff with her, killing them both. Jun-tae ends up getting caught by the police.
On the first full moon of January, in the town of Ha-pyung, there is a festival going on in the yard of Shin Chi-gyu, the town's biggest landowner. They are playing yut, a game of throwing four short sticks. The winner of the game is Ok-bun's husband, Lee Bang-won. Having no money, Ok-bun and Bang-won had been tenant farmers on Chi-gyu's land. With their winnings, they try to start their own business. Chi-gyu had always been drawn to Ok-bun. When Bang-won leaves, Chi-gyu comes on strong to Ok-bun. Ok-bun waits eagerly for her husband's return but Bang-won has failed in his business and returns a pauper. As their dreams go up in smoke, Ok-bun falls into deep despair.
Due to his burning ambitions, Wang Ju-ho, CEO of a construction firm, uses corrupt means to pursue a redevelopment construction deal. His friend Im Seon-hak and daughter Mi-suk live on the construction site. Ju-ho's daughter, Hye-young, runs away from a marriage her father arranged to expand his business. With the help of her friend Mi-suk, Hye-young is also living with them. In a desperate effort for business profit, Ju-ho's henchman sets Seon-hak's house on fire. Hye-young is severely burned in the fire. To cover up his crime, Ju-ho's henchman tries to rape Mi-suk. But he gets caught in the process and confesses everything. Ju-ho gets a lawyer and tries to avoid punishment. But when he finds out about what has happened to his only daughter, Ju-ho willingly takes responsibility for his crimes.
A farmer in a community near Jirisan falls in love with and marries an itinerant performer. She plans to betray him by robbing him and leaving with her old boyfriend, another itinerant performer, when he comes to the village. Eventually she realizes she loves the farmer and stays with him.
