Trees Die on Their Feet is about an elderly woman from North Korea who doesn't have much time left to live and a theatre actor who acts as her grandson in order to fulfill her final wish. Ja Geum Soon is a woman born in 1930 in North Korea. She escapes to South Korea during wartimes and is separated from her husband and child. While waiting for her family, she establishes Hotel Nakwon, a hotel chain in South Korea. Jae Heon is an unknown theatre actor who acts as Geum Soon's grandson Moon Sung in order to fulfill her wish. Se Yeon is Geum Soon's granddaughter who is in charge of Hotel Nakwon.