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The Ryugyong Hotel is a Pyongyang, capital city of North Korea, skyscraper hotel development. (Architectural Story) • Height: ≈ 330 metres (≈1,080 ft). (Wikipedia) • Floors: 105 stories. (Wikipedia) • Floor-space: approximately 360,000 m² (~3.9 million ft²). (Ryugyong Hotel) •\tHistoric name meaning: "Ryugyong" (류경) is an old name for Pyongyang that means "capital of willows". (WikiArquitectura) 2.Design & Architecture •\tThe building has a pyramid-like / three-winged shape: three wings each ~100 m long, 18 m wide, tapering to a pinnacle. (WikiArquitectura) •\tIts peak is formed of a truncated cone structure (~40 m wide) intended to contain a revolving set of floors/restaurants. (WikiArquitectaura) • Intended uses: ~3,000 rooms, multiple restaurants, possibly nightclubs/casinos (which was unusual for North Korea at the time). (Ryugyong Hotel) • Structural challenges: Because it was built mostly of reinforced concrete rather than steel, the large base and tapering design were necessary given material/technology constraints. (Reddit) 3.Construction Timeline & History • 1987: Construction began. (Architectural Story) • 1989: Initial target opening (for the 13th World Festival of Youth & Students in Pyongyang) was planned but not fulfilled. (Wikipedia) • 1992: Work stopped (owing to financial troubles, material problems, etc). By this time concrete shell had been completed to full height but did not have windows, interior finishes, etc. (World Construction Network) • 2008: Exterior refurbishment restarted with the Egyptian company Orascom Group involved. (Wikipedia) • 2011: The exterior cladding (glass façade) was said to have been completed. (Architectural Story) 4.Current Status & Use • As of 2025, while the exterior is complete, the inside is mostly unfinished and the building never used as a functioning hotel (to public knowledge). (Architectural Story) • Some sources state that the building is utilized for telecommunications antennae and large LED light displays (propaganda) on its façade. (Architectural Story) In 2024, it was reported that the building's rights to have a casino had been offered to an investor who would finish its interior by the North Korean government. (Radio Free Asia) Structural/quality issues: Various reports mention that with low-quality materials, elevator shaft misalignments, prolonged exposure to the outdoors, the interior may be hazardous or need extensive re-work. (Reddit) 5.Significance & Symbolism • The Ryugyong Hotel is a landmark: the most iconic building in North Korea, towering over the Pyongyang skyline. (The Korea Times) • It was planned as a symbol of North Korean prestige, particularly in the late-1980s, representing ambition and rivalry (e.g., against context of the Cold War and the 1988 Seoul Olympics). (The Korea Times) •\tHas sometimes been referred to as the "Hotel of Doom" or "ghost hotel" due to its massive size but no one to occupy it. (Architectural Story) •\tEconomically, it has been used as an example of mis‐matched ambition: the price tag has been estimated to be hundreds of millions of USD (some put it at ~US$750 million for the first period) which was a significant portion of the nation's GDP. (The Daily Beast)

From Pride to Mystery: The Rise and Fall of Ryugyong Hotel

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1.Basic Facts & Location • The Ryugyong Hotel is a Pyongyang, capital city of North Korea, skyscraper hotel development. (Architectural Story)• Height: ≈ 330 metres (≈1,080 ft). (Wikipedia)• Floors: 105 stories. (Wikipedia)• Floor-space: approximately 360,000 m² (~3.9 million ft²). (Ryugyong Hotel)•\tHistoric name meaning: “Ryugyong” (류경) is an old name for Pyongyang that means “capital of…

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