The film is divided into 7 sections, each dated and titled. They are presented here in the same order as in the film.
Outdoor Excursion: Spring 1999 A group of friends are having a reunion picnic at a river. A man named Kim Young-ho wanders into the group; the others have not heard from him in 20 years, and have little awareness of his life during that time. After causing general mayhem with his deranged, anguished antics, he leaves and climbs atop a nearby train trestle; one of the group tries to convince him to abandon suicide, but the others ignore him. Facing an oncoming train, Young-ho screams, "I want to go back!"
The Camera: 3 days earlier, Spring 1999 Young-ho is destitute and homeless. While driving around, he overhears a radio program announcing a reunion picnic. He spends his last money on a pistol and contemplates suicide. He visits the home of his former business partner and ex-wife Hong-ja, who refuses to let him in. Afterwards, the husband of his old flame Sun-im pays him a surprise visit. Young-ho is taken to visit a
comatose Sun-im in a hospital, and gives her a tin of peppermint candies, the same ones she regularly mailed to him during his military service. After he leaves, the comatose Sun-im sheds a tear. Before parting, Sun-im's husband gives Young-ho an old film camera, telling him she wanted Young-ho to have it. Desperate for money, he sells it at a pawn shop. Upon being told that the camera has film in it, he takes the film, later building up his bravery and looking at it. He immediately begins to cry, reminiscing on the past.
Life is Beautiful: Summer 1994 Young-ho is a seemingly successful businessman, running a local furniture store. When he learns from a private investigator he has hired that Hong-ja is having an affair with her driving instructor, Young-ho tails them to a love hotel and brutally beats both of them. Despite this, Young-ho is also having an affair with a secretary from work. They have sex in his car, then go to a restaurant together, where Young-ho encounters a man he has not seen since his career with the police. He tells the man while they are in the bathroom that life is beautiful. On the way home, the woman Young-ho is having an affair with attempts to give him a peppermint candy. Later, Young-ho reluctantly hosts a housewarming party with his family and coworkers. When Hong-ja's prayer before dinner turns into anguished sobbing, Young-ho storms out of the house.
Confession: Spring 1987 Young-ho is a police officer, and Hong-ja is pregnant with their daughter. While getting a haircut, he encounters the man he will meet at the restaurant in 1994, apprehends him, and brutally tortures him for information about a suspect's whereabouts. He asks the man if he thinks life is beautiful before letting him go. This leads Young-ho to
Gunsan, coincidentally Sun-im's hometown, where he and several other officers wait to apprehend the suspect. That night, Young-ho searches for Sun-im but fails to find her, and ends up sleeping with a woman he meets at a bar. The next morning, the police apprehend and brutally beat the suspect before leaving town, with Young-ho leaving the woman he slept with fruitlessly waiting for him.
Prayer: Fall 1984 Young-ho is a rookie in the police force, who is pressured by his colleagues into brutally torturing a suspect. Hong-ja, a restaurant owner, takes an interest in him. One day, Young-ho is visited by Sun-im, who gives him a camera, remarking that he had once expressed an interest in photography to her. He dismisses her by feigning interest in Hong-ja, and returns the camera to Sun-im as she leaves by train. One night, a deranged Young-ho barks military commands at the patrons of Hong-ja's restaurant and wreaks havoc. Afterwards, Young-ho sleeps with Hong-ja, who tries to show him how to recite the
Lord's Prayer.
Military Visit: May 1980 Sun-im tries and fails to visit Young-ho while he is performing his
military service, just as his company is ordered to quell the events occurring in
Gwangju. As Young-ho rushes out the barrack, he spills his tin of peppermint candies, and watches as Sun-im walks behind his platoon's vehicle. Young-ho is injured by a stray bullet and is unable to follow his comrades. While waiting for help, a student approaches him, pleading to be allowed to go home despite violating curfew; he initially mistakes her for Sun-im. Just as he is about to let her go, his company returns. He frantically fires warning shots, but accidentally kills the girl. As the other soldiers gather around, he breaks down inconsolably.
Picnic: Fall 1979 A group of students, including Young-ho, are visiting a river for a picnic, the same place they will reunite at 20 years later. He meets Sun-im, a factory worker, who gives him a piece of peppermint candy. He expresses a clear interest in photography and her, and remarks that he has seen the location in his dreams, despite having never visited before. While the others play guitar and sing, Young-ho wanders off, lies down on the riverbank, and stares into the distance. A tear falls from his eye, as the sound of a train passing is heard. ==Main cast==