Disillusioned by the poverty of rural life, the husband decides to go to Seoul after being deceived by the boasts of a traveling cosmetics salesman. He sells his house and leased farmland, gathering nearly 70 won, and leaves his hometown with his reluctant wife and newborn child, but is swindled by the cosmetics salesman and left penniless. In despair, the couple begins a life of wandering, and their child dies of hunger. One day, they arrive at a village and visit the local landlord, Mr. Lee, to ask for land rental. Mr. Lee, initially unwilling, sees the wife's beautiful face and smiles lewdly, leasing her a potato field. As revenge for rejecting his advances, the potato field is devastated, plunging them into enormous debt. To gather the travel expenses to Seoul, the husband conceives the idea of gambling and shouts at his wife every day to bring him money. The village women, including Seol-dol's mother, engage in relationships with Mr. Lee to escape poverty. Under her husband's pressure to get money, the wife accepts Mr. Lee's insistent proposal. Hearing this, the husband, hoping to earn money by gambling, helps his wife get dressed up. Mr. Lee and Pan-sul's family are expelled, and then commit suicide by hanging. On the way to meet Mr. Lee at Seonangdang, the wife crosses paths with Pan-sul's funeral procession, and a downpour begins to fall.