Kim Bul-yi is a dwarf. He was making a living by playing the trumpet in local theaters and in the circus. With modernization, however, the theaters and circus stages were torn down. Kim lost his job and ended up working at a cabaret. His eldest son, Yeong-su, played by An Sung-ki, works at a factory melting rusted metal. Yeong-su has a girlfriend, Myeong-hee, played by Jeon Yeong-sun. Due to the tough times, she works at a pub, but Yeong-su can't afford to help her. His daughter, Yeong-hee, played by Keum Bo-ra, works at a bakery. Kim's wife, played by Jeon Yang-ja, works at a salt farm. She always says that they are poor, but that they can be happy, satisfactory with a house where their family gets together. They love and support each other.
One day, the salt farm and the industry decline and the farms are replaced with high-rises and factories. People in the neighborhood are faced with two options: either purchase an option to buy one of the apartments or hand the option over to a broker and leave the area. Kim's family has no choice but to give up their options. Yeong-hee, however, cannot give up, and goes out to meet the real estate agent. Waiting for Yeong-hee to return, the family watches as their home begins to be torn down, a home that they built and preserved for generations.
Yeong-hee comes back with an option that she stole from the house of the agent. However, as she enters the partially torn down home, she encounters the dead body of her father.