Dongseong Metal employs over 200 impecunious workers at its production plant. One day, a new worker named Ju Wan-ik joins the Forging Team, and the team members welcome him with drinks and good cheer. Han-su, who is also a member of the Forging Team, longs to shake off the insufferable shackles of poverty. His dream, which he is determined to realize, is to work hard, save, and become rich someday. But to the management, the workers are mere machines that are unfortunately prone to breakage. Director Kim meticulously lays down his plans against the impending unionization of his laborers, and Han-su is recruited by his manager to stand on the side of the company. The film was screened at universities nationwide. The government authorities dispatched the armed police to the campuses in question in an effort to prevent the film from showing, and the students formed combat teams to defend the screenings. Hundreds of thousands of college students saw the movie in this manner.