In the latter years of the Korean Empire, Lee In Hwa, disguises herself as a man so she can join a group of young men determined to overthrow the colonial government. They fight together with young national activists presided by Hwal Min and supported by Daewon-gun, the Prince Regent, against Min Gyeom Ho and his peers. But Min and his team perform a surprise attack on Hwal Min and his peers.

Four short stories examing the lives of women in the last 18th and 19th century Story 1: 'Wives Should Be Submissive'--A father tries to marry his daughter into a wealthy family. Story 2: 'A Daughter-In-Law Is No Better Than A Stranger'--A woman thinks that her daughter-in-law has turned her son against her so she tries to kill the younger woman. Story 3: '7 Grounds For Divorce'--A wife begins an affair with her servant because of her husband's impotency Story 4: 'Prohibit Sex In Court'--A concubine's life is at risk when it is revealed that her infant child is not the king's.

Set in Gando in the 1930s, a family hides a wealthy Chinese-Korean merchant while the father is killed in a fight between the Japanese police and Chinese bandits. The wife believes the communists are the cause of her husband's death.

The film is based on the 1925 short story of the same title by Na Do-hyang and revolves around the story of a deaf farm hand who is in love with a landlord's daughter-in-law.

While serving as a journalist in World War 2 for the Imperial Army of Japan, "Takahashi Minoru" (Pak Ki Ju) sees first-hand the impact on Koreans who have had their national identity forcibly taken from them by the Japanese occupation of their country. It's at this time that he adopts a mantra of viewing an incident before writing a newspaper editorial on it. Several years later he once again visits Korea as a war correspondent during the Korean War and takes home with him several more memories that have a great effect upon him as well. Years later he becomes a respected writer and while giving a speech on the Juche system has his perspective challenged by a young man in the auditorium. Having never seen North Korea he realizes that in order to meet his own high standard of journalism he must travel there and see for himself whether his opinion is valid or not.

Kang-hie recalls from her cell how she was used by Japanese detectives to track down and destroy the Korean Independence fighters. She manages to escape from prison during a break and proceeds to hunt down her former lover who was a Japanese agent.

Jin-ho marries Sakiko, the daughter of a Japanese colonel. When his father-in-law learns that Jin-ho is Korean, he sends the young man to serve in the army in Manchuria where he hopes the soldier will be killed. Jin-ho deserts and tries to live a quiet life with his wife, but her father has decided to hunt him down and kill him.

In the period of Unified Shilla, the daughter of Yu-jong arrives at Bulguk temple to watch the construction of the stone pagodas. When the chief artisan falls ill due to missing his wife, the girl nurses him until he recovers, but develops complicated feelings for the man

Prince Yeonsan-gun attempts to sexually harass Yahwa, the wife of Yun Pil-u who was beheaded after being branded as a traitor. Yahwa commits a suicide following her husband but, before she dies, has already asked her cat to make revenge. Since that time, the bodies of the court ladies and the patrol guards are found every morning and ghosts of Pil-u and Yahwa regularly appear along with the mewing sound of the cat. Kim Chung-won, head of the guardsmen and also a former friend of Pil-u, borrows the supernatural power of a senior Buddhist priest and succeeds in getting rid of the ghosts for the peace of the nation.

A woman reaches out from the beyond to marry the man she loves. It isn't until later that he begins to suspect that his new wife is actually dead.

A middle-aged man is laid off from work but is too proud to tell his family. His children, however, learn of the situation and take jobs of their own to help him save face.

Chun-hyang, the only daughter of an old gisaeng named Wolmae, falls in love with Lee Mong-nyong and promises to marry him. But Lee leaves for Seoul with his father who's an aristocrat, and the new governor, Byeon Hakdo, covets Chun-hyang because she is the most beautiful girl in town. When Chun-hyang rejects his order to serve him at night, Governor Byeon sends her to jail. In the mean time, Lee passes the state exam and becomes a special undercover agent of the king. He comes back to where Chun-hyang lives to save her and punishes Governor Byeon.