Freshfromthecountry,Duk-bae(AhnSung-ki),Chun-sik(LeeYoung-ho),andKil-nam(KimSeong-chan)workataChineserestaurant,barbershop,andmotel,respectively,inanewly-developingareajustoutsideofSeoul.Theysharefriendshipandmoralsupportwithoneanotherintheirdifficultlives.Duetoongoingdevelopment,evenlong-establishedinhabitantsoftheareaareforcedtogiveuptheirfarmlandandleavetheirhomes.Meanwhile,Kil-namisinlovewithahairdressernamedJin-ok,andChun-sikhashisheartsetonMissYu(KimBo-yeon),whoworksasashaverinthesamebarbershop.SimpleheartedDuk-baefindshimselftornbetweenChun-sun(LimYe-jin),abrightandspiritedgirlfromthecountry,andMyung-hi(YooJi-in),afoul-temperedyetcaptivatinghighsocietygirl.However,Duk-baelearnsthatMyung-hi,whopretendedtocareforhim,wasmerelyplayingwithhim.Similarly,Jin-okrunsoffwithoutpayingbackthemoneysheowesKil-nam.AlthoughMissYulovesChun-sik,shebecomesthemistressofMr.Kim(ChoiBul-am),aregularatthebarbershop,inordertopayforherfather’smedicalfeesandhersiblings’tuition.Enraged,Chun-sikstabsMr.Kimandendsupinprison.Kil-namenlistsinthemilitary,andDuk-baeresolvestodefeattheworldbyboxing.