Ahn So-young
Hae-su works at a factory on the outskirts of Seoul. Returning home from work, she makes a phone call that goes to voicemail; nearing her residence, another phone call comes in, but she doesn't pick up. Inside the house is her mother's body—she died from mysterious circumstances. A knock on the door goes unanswered, but when a plainclothes police officer arrives, Hae-su lets him in. An exchange of documents, uncertain glances. With Hae-su and her tempermental brother the only attendants at her mother's funeral, there are more questions than answers.
Moon Chae-Ku and his friend Kim Chul try to bring the body of Moon's father back to his native Kwisong Island for burial. Their ferry is intercepted by resentful islanders who will not let the boat dock, because of the father's political activities in the 1950's, informing on Communist sympathizers. Kim Chul, through flashbacks, recalls people and events from his island childhood.
Hyun-il and his wife are returning from a fishing trip when they get into a car accident with a drunken man. They end up killing him. They meet with the dead man's wife, Su-jin, to come to an agreement. Su-jin demands their house so they make her to stay in their house temporarily. Mi-young's nerves are on edge due to Su-jin. Mi-young meets Jin, Su-jin's neighbor, and finds out that Su-jin was once a hostess. But Jin tries to rape Mi-young and she ends up killing him. This sends Mi-young over the edge and she is confined to a mental institution. Too late, Su-jin goes to Mi-young to ask for her forgiveness and then she leaves.
Suh Jung-hwan is the head of marketing at a cosmetics company. A year ago, masked robbers raped his wife, Oh Hye-ryung, in front of him. Hye-ryung lives in torment from the memories. Jung-hwan tries to overcome this through his great love for his wife but they're not able to reclaim a normal sex life. Jung-hwan meets a woman named Noh Sung-ah. She is hot for him but Jung-hwan works desperately to stay true to his poor wife. Jang-suk, a young man who likes Sung-ah, decides to go after Hye-ryung after losing Sung-ah. His intentions are money. Ultimately, there is infidelity at the end of Jang-suk's knife and the adulterers fall. Jang-suk also falls to the knife that he himself holds.
Kim Ik-do and his second wife, Hye-mi, are living happily on the deer farm when a new breeder is hired. Hye-mi recognizes him as the ex-boyfriend who betrayed her five years ago. She makes a move on him but he is suffering from amnesia. Through her devoted nursing, he makes a full recovery and regains his memory. He leaves Hye-mi but then returns, demanding her love. Ik-do is furious but ultimately bows to their love. However, the man's wife and young child come looking for him. Hye-mi falls into the embrace of her forgiving husband.
Oh Su-bi's husband, Shin Hyun-wu, is in jail for involuntary homicide. For the past two years, Su-bi has visited her husband every week. Though she is anguished by Hyun-wu's affairs, Su-bi is unable to divorce him even though everyone thinks she should. While visiting her husband, Su-bi meets Kim Dong-yub, a student of art, and feels his sincerity. One day, Su-bi runs into an old boyfriend, Kim Mun-ho, who lives in the same apartment complex. They engage in an affair. However, Su-bi is unable to bear the perverted sexual preferences of Mun-ho. She goes to Dong-yub and engages in a pure love. Hyun-wu asks for a divorce. When Su-bi is in the country, Dong-yub comes to her and promises to take her to France. However, the day they are supposed to leave for France, Hyun-wu is released from jail on a special pardon. Though she was on her way to Dong-yub, Su-bi finds herself greeting Hyun-wu, unable to free herself from the shackles of marriage.
A Korean woman raised in Spain with European values towards life and romance finds living in her ancestral land stifling and it eats away at her vitality.
Bun-nyeo, a girl in a mountain village loses her virginity to Myong-jun, the village vagabond. After both of her suitors die before they can wed Bun-nyeo, she moves to the city to work in a factory. Myong-jun persuades her to return to the village, but he is arrested for murder. As the film ends, Bun-nyeo is waiting for Myong-jun's release.
Gyu-hwa and Jin-wu are old friends with very different personalities. Their friend Mi-yeon used to be close to Jin-wu but when she grows up, she becomes a prisoner of Gyu-hwa's aggressive behavior. Gyu-hwa takes Ga-hi away from Jin-wu when he discovers that she comes from a wealthy family. But Gyu-hwa begins to have an affair with an older widow and begins to abuse Mi-yeon, the mother of his daughter.
