Into the Flame

Tae-hyung, a judo athlete in Japan, is drafted along with his friend Dae-chul as a cadet solder during the height of World War II, where they endure hard labor and harassment from Japanese workers. Despite his Japanese friend Kumiko's love for him, Tae-hyung abandons his life in Japan and returns to his motherland. Years later, the Korean President asks him to build the first integrated steel mill, which Tae-hyung reluctantly accepts. However, some people stand his way - from the President's political henchman, a powerful steel lobbyist, to old friends who become his worst enemies.