During a concert in Japan a singer encounters his childhood sweetheart and their old love is rekindled with new passion. However their love is a problem for the singer because he is already engaged to the daughter of his mentor.
O Jin-u of a rich family and a female private tutor at his house are in love, but his family are against their marriage and send him to America. Before he leaves for America, they hold their own wedding and vow to love forever. But once out of sight, her devotion weakens with time and falls in love with Jin-u's friend Seong-hun. Hearing about the fact, Jin-u hurriedly returns to fight a duel with him...
Cheol, an auto mechanic, and Yeong-hui, a maid meet. Cheol lies and tells Yeong-hui that he is the son of a businessman. Cheol pretends to be the French ambassador's daughter. They meet only on rainy days.
Patriotic university student Youngwoo and his friends, led by their teacher Lee Sung, along with a British friend bid farewell to their families and become freedom fighters in Manchuria fighting against the Japanese occupation around the Tumen River.
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.
Son Hak-su (Kim Seung-ho) is a middle school teacher who barely gets by on his income because he's paying off a monthly mortgage for his welfare housing facility sold by the government. One day, Mr. Son and his wife make the acquaintance of a U.S. immigrant Charlie Hong (Heo Chang-kang) who is engaged in the smuggling business.
A young sailor arrives in Busan Harbour; an outrageous-looking, woolly bear of a man appears in downtown Busan with a shotgun over one shoulder, a heavy knapsack thrown over the other; a tough-looking young woman joins her friend in robbing a naïve fat man in a suit. The strands of character and story will slowly converge, well after the audience, tuned to the coincidences and mistaken identities of melodrama, has recognised that these three have a shared history and are fated to meet and reconcile.
Following the death of his parents, Yeong-cheol shines shoes in the streets, struggling to care for his sick younger sister Yeong-hui and make ends meet. Despite the persuasive efforts of low-life criminal boss Wang-cho, pickpocket Jjang-gu, and prostitute Mi-hwa, Yeong-cheol vows to lead an honest life by looking after Yeong-hui with cigarette salesgirl Myeong-sun and helping newly arrived shoeshine boy Dong-seok settle in. However, a tragic accident forces Yeong-cheol to make an important decision that may change his life. ※ Sharing the same Korean title with Vittorio De Sica’s classic Shoeshine (1946), this film was noted at the time of release for its strong neorealistic approach. All of the picture elements have been lost and only 4 original sound negative reels (around 40 minutes) survive today. The plot summary and scene descriptions have been added in the form of title cards as well as a selection of production stills to aid the viewing experience.