After fourteen years in Japan a small-time crook returns to his hometown.
Mr. Kim is jobless, lost in debt and has been dumped by his girlfriend. He decides to end it all by jumping into the Han River – only to find himself washed up on a small, mid-river island. He soon abandons thoughts of suicide or rescue and begins a new life as a castaway. His antics catch the attention of a young woman whose apartment overlooks the river. Her discovery changes both their lives.
For the first time in Korean history, the mayor of Seoul attempts a third term in office, with his entire campaign team ready to soil their hands.
In January 1987, a 22-year-old college student dies during a police interrogation. Under the orders of Director Park, the police request the body to be cremated in order to destroy evidence. Public Prosecutor Choi, who was on duty on the day of the incident, denies the request and calls for an autopsy. The police maintain the lie that the death was a simple accident, resulting from shock. The autopsy results, however, point to torture as the cause of death. Yoon, a journalist following the case, reports that the death was a result of asphyxiation during torture. Director Park attempts to conceal the truth by ending the case, arresting two detectives including inspector Cho. While in prison, inspector Cho reveals the truth to prison guard Han Byung-yong, who embarks on a dangerous mission to relay the information to an opposition politician through his niece, Yeon-hee.
In revenge for her husband's infidelity, a young beautiful housewife, Mi-heun, starts an affair with an attractive young doctor, In-gyu. Despite her husband's efforts to regain her love and the disapproval by the conservative little town, Mi-huen gradually finds happiness and satisfaction in the affair and decides to turn her back on her quiet life.
Jin-a, a young prostitute, moves into a seaside motel called the Birdcage Inn, run by a dysfunctional family. Struggling with her circumstances and the family's treatment, she forms an unlikely bond with the daughter, Hye-mi. As they navigate love, betrayal, and personal growth, their friendship ultimately leads to a deeper understanding and a chance for redemption.
Min-Soo is a playboy who can't tolerate long term relationships. However, fate takes him to beautiful Hye-Won. While, Min-Soo becomes totally captivated by Hye-Won, Hye-Woon tries to resist Min-Soo, fearing their love will be shortened by her terminal illness.
In this Korean omnibus film, three stories and relationships between the North and South are explored - stories about a hopeless romance, an unknown future and an expected and coincidental comfort.
After 1988 Seoul Olympic, Ji Kang-heon, who is sentenced for 7 years, and other inmates escape from the police van. After escaping, Ji Kang-heon and inmates make the entire Seoul under fear while they hold hostages.
seg.1) Jong-soo misses his roomate Yeong-joo, who is gone. He's embarassed he misses someone who wasn't even his lover, but a close roomate. Meanwhile, Yeong-joo knew this day would come. seg.2) Min-ha is full of vitality. Ki-cheol lives in the greenhouse built by her. They've lived together for almost three years. One day Ji-hye bumps in between them. seg.3) Lovers Yoon and Cheol decide to spend a day up in the mountains. However, Yoon suddenly pours her heart out on all the things she was upset about at Cheol. seg.4) Sang-won is working at an electronics department and having a secret relationship with an elderly woman who is from the store across. As spring approaches Sang-won starts to feel weak. seg.5) One warm afternoon, Min-jae was taking a nap and Ji-hong woke him up. seg.6) Byeong-goo, a former boxer has been caught in a punch-drunk. Byeong-Gu realizes he doesn't have much time life and starts boxing again.
Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.
A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.
A drifter lives in people's houses while they are away and repays them by doing chores for them. His life changes when he meets a beautiful woman who wants to escape her unhappy marriage.
An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action.
Yu-ra yearns for money and fame while Jun wants to go back to his hometown. Yu-ra scolds Jun. Jun helps Yu-ra in her efforts to become a star. In her reach for stardom, Yu-ra is unaware that a person is helping her out from behind the scenes.
Three friends from the northern half of Seoul move to the more affluent southern half, but experience many troubles there.
Kwon returns to Seoul from a restorative stay in the mountains. She is given a packet of letters left by Mori, who has come back from Japan to propose to her. Kwon drops and scatters the letters, all of which are undated. When she reads them, she has to make sense of the chronology.
Two clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.
A well-meaning but politically naive barber gets pulled into the inner circle of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee, with rather baleful consequences for his hapless family. This sharp political satire covers roughly twenty years in South Korean political history, from the viewpoint of the barber's son.
Jeong-eun is embarrassed that her mother, who is suffering from dementia, wants to meet and call her sister from who was separated with due to the Korean War. However, Jeongeun accidentally receives a wrong call from a North Korean woman and is asked a favor.