Two brothers—Chul-ho, an accountant with a toothache and a pregnant wife, and Yong-ho, an unemployed ex-soldier wounded in battle—navigate life in post-war Korea.

Facing financial uncertainty and entering middle age, a married couple in their early thirties contemplate whether it's the right time to have their first baby.

A medical doctor, Ko, has three daughters. The first daughter, Suk-hee, confesses her past when her husband asks her to forgive his past, on the first night of their honeymoon. When he breaks off the marriage and goes to America, Suk-hee confines herself to her home for three years.

Kim Su-im, the mistress of an American colonel, is arrested and charged with being a North Korean spy. While not denying the charge, Miss Kim takes the trial as an opportunity to relate her life as an explanation of why she committed treason as a spy.

A piano composer's family moves into a new house; when his pregnant wife collapses from working to support the family, he hires a housemaid to help with housework.