AllMovie

Hard-won lessons of loss and redemption are at the heart of this low-key drama set in South Korea in the mid-'70s. Kim Tae-seok (Bae Chang-ho) is an itinerant blacksmith who travels from village to village, taking his services wherever they might be needed. He stops for a meal at a diner operated by Mrs. Jinju (Kim Ji-ye), and they strike up a conversation in which Tae-seok relates the story of his life. Tae-seok once had a wife, Gwi-ok (Seol Weon-jeong), and a child, and he longed to give up his nomadic lifestyle for more stable employment. His best friend Deok-su (Gweon Beom-taek) is eager to help, and offers to let Tae-seok use his house as collateral for a loan to set up a business. But Tae-seok developed a gambling problem that caused him to lose his money, his business, his family, and his best friend, and since then he's been on the road and on his own. As Tae-seok returns to the road, he happens upon a young woman named Shin-yeong (Kang Gi-hwa) who is traveling to her father's funeral. The two travel together for a while, and as they get to know one another they discover they have something unexpected in common.