A disgraced chef tries to restore his name by competing in a culinary contest to win the knife of Korea's last royal chef.

Byeon Kang-soe proves to be too powerful and endowed for most women to bear so he begins a quest to locate Ong-nyeo, a woman whose sexual stamina matches his own

Byeon Gang-soe, who served prison time for adultery with a local woman, is released and immediately welcomed by a flock of village women. Meanwhile, Ong-nyeo laments her ill fate, as every man she sleeps with ends up dead. Hearing rumors of this, Byeon Gang-soe sets out to find her, believing they might be the perfect match to balance each other out. Ong-nyeo, having teamed up with a tavern keeper to earn money serving guests, causes the instant death of all the local men, effectively turning the village into a settlement of widows. Byeon Gang-soe arrives in this village of widows; after leaving the women—who had lined up to be with him—completely bedridden, he finally encounters Ong-nyeo at the foot of a mountain. Their ultimate union creates such a seismic commotion that it shakes the very foundations of the Japanese archipelago.

Desperate for a grandson, the Lees hire a surrogate mother for thei son Man-ho and their daughter-in-law Seok-hyang. However, when they discover that it is Man-bo who cannot father children, the Lees enlist the services of the merchant Hong Du-gae to impregnate Seok-hyang. However, they have no intention of allowing him to live afterwards and run the risk of a scandal to their family name.

A sequel to Yeong-ja's Heydays follows the career of Yeong-ja’s first love, Chang-su, and his faithful love for her.