Ryugyong Hotel

Ryugyong Hotel
류경호텔
The Ryugyong Hotel in 2012
Map
General information
StatusNever completed
TypeMixed use: Hotel, Retail, Restaurants
Architectural styleNeo-futurism
LocationRyugyong-dong, Potonggang-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea
Coordinates39°02′12″N 125°43′51″E / 39.03667°N 125.73083°E / 39.03667; 125.73083
Construction started28 August 1987[1]
Topped-out1992[2]
Estimated completionUnknown
(exterior construction completed: 14 July 2011)
Height
Roof330.02 metres (1,082.7 ft)[2]
Technical details
Floor countAbove ground 105, underground 3[2]
Floor area360,000 m2 (3,900,000 sq ft)[2]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers[1]
DeveloperOrascom Group
Other information
Public transit access   Hyǒksin: Kŏnsŏl
Ryugyong Hotel
Chosŏn'gŭl
류경호텔
Hancha
柳京호텔
Revised RomanizationRyugyeong Hotel
McCune–ReischauerRyugyŏng Hot'el

The Ryugyong Hotel (Korean류경호텔; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel,[3] is a 1,080 ft (330 meter) tall unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name (lit. "capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang.[4] The building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would include a hotel.

Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered a period of economic crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. After 1992, the building stood topped out, but without any windows or interior fittings. In 2008, construction resumed, and the exterior was completed in 2011. The hotel was planned to open in 2012, the centenary of founding leader Kim Il Sung's birth. A partial opening was announced for 2013, but this was cancelled.[5] In 2018, an LED display was fitted to one side, which is used to show propaganda animations and film scenes.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference IFES was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Emporis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "105 Building, Pyongyang, Korea, North". Asian Historical Architecture. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  4. ^ Funabashi, Yoichi (2007). The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Northern Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8157-3010-1.
  5. ^ Berg, Nate (16 February 2016). "North Korea's Best Building Is Empty: The Mystery of the Ryugyong Hotel". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Ryugyong, the world's tallest empty hotel, dazzles North Korean capital skyline with propaganda light shows". South China Morning Post. 30 December 2018.