Hwaseong Co.

A man tries to raise his two sons and two daughters under some of the most adverse conditions known to man. The father operates a horse-drawn cart, but in a city that is modernizing after the destruction of the Korean War, automobiles are making carts obsolete. The children are experiencing difficulties as well. The eldest son has flunked the bar exam twice and is not hopeful of passing it a third time to become a lawyer. The eldest daughter is mute and married to an abusive husband. The younger daughter tries to pose as a rich university student to move up in life. The youngest son has a penchant for petty theft.

King Sukjong exalts a greedy concubine to the status of Bin, which is next to that of the Queen. The new Bin, who is now called Jang Hui-bin, drives out the Queen through a coup and takes her place. But thanks to loyal court officials, the King finds out what has been going on. He demotes Jang to Bin again and reinstates his Queen. Jang, now vindictive, conspires with her mother to kill the queen and reclaim her place. But the conspiracy is brought to light, and Jang is executed.

Bae's two daughters, Jang-hwa and Hong-ryeon, are abused to death by their stepmother. But Jang-hwa cannot just go away to the other world. She becomes a ghost, haunting the governor every night to help her take her revenge. The governor orders an investigation. Jang-hwa's stepmother finally confesses what she did and the governor punishes her.

A generous businessman is betrayed by a jealous office worker when he marries another woman. The employee takes the company's secrets and sells them to the competition in an effort to destroy his happiness.

A man assists a woman in danger, but through her actions, she unintentionally causes his death. Everyone in the village knows that she visits his tomb every spring, but no one knows the details of her story.