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 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)
6.Why It Was Delayed / Unfinished
•\tEconomic collapse: Following Soviet collapse (early 1990s) and loss of aid/trade, North Korea experienced an economic downturn and famine — this had interrupted funding. (Radio Free Asia)
•\tConstruction/material issues: Construction problems (bad concrete, misaligned shafts, crane left atop for years) made the building unsafe and costly to finish. (World Construction Network)
•\tShifting priorities: Perhaps the hoped-for foreign investment, tourist influx, casino/nightclub dream did not come to pass within the intended time period. Additionally, sanctions and global politics might have limited large-scale investment. (Wikipedia)
7.Tourist & Tourism Aspects
•\tVisible from much of Pyongyang and frequently referenced on tours as an impressive (unfinished) landmark.
•\tInterior access as a hotel, however, is not open to ordinary tourists (that is, if one knows publicly).
- For anyone passing through Pyongyang (with official tour permission), the exterior is worth viewing for architectural/photographic purposes.
- If the interior were ever to open in the future, it’d be one of the country’s largest hotel projects — but that’s speculative.
8.Prospects & Future
•\tWhether or not it will complete and open as a hotel is still unclear. That the government is approaching foreign investment and selling casino rights now implies that they still believe in the building. (Radio Free Asia)
•\tCost, structural soundness, and the market (tourism in North Korea is constrained by sanctions, logistics, policy) still are huge hurdles.
• There are analysts who feel the building may never serve as hotel it was meant to be, and may end up being repurposed or remain landmark. Reddit comments are indicative of skepticism:
“It would be really cool if it were completed… but the concrete was left exposed for too long and is not safe.” (Reddit)
The Ryugyong Hotel is a spectacularly ambitious building project towering above Pyongyang as a sign of hope and of unfulfilled promise. With its distinctive design, colossal proportions and decades-long history of delays, it is one of the globe’s most intriguing “uncompleted skyscrapers.” Whether or not it will ever fulfill its role as the hotel it was designed to be remains to be seen.
What happened to Ryugyong 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.
Can you stay in the Ryugyong Hotel?
The Ryugyong Hotel is a 105-story monstrosity that dominates the Pyongyang skyline, but is unfortunately not available for anyone to stay in. The Pyongyang Hotel is an older, run-of-the-mill tourist hotel, one of the few available to foreigners, although Koryo and Yanggakdo are far better.
What is the forbidden 5th floor in North Korea?
The fifth floor of the hotel has been a source of curiosity among foreigners because it is off-limits to hotel guests and there is no fifth-floor button on the elevator panels. The fifth floor has occasionally been visited “unofficially” via staircase by tourists exploring the hotel.
Why is Ryugyong Hotel called hotel of Doom?
Its name means “capital of willows,” which is also an old name for Pyongyang. People outside North Korea sometimes call it the “Hotel of Doom” because it has been unfinished for so long. Construction started in 1987 but stopped in 1992.
What is the secret of Room 39 in North Korea?
Room 39 (or Office 39) is the primary government organization that seeks ways to maintain the foreign currency slush fund of North Korea’s leader. Room 39 oversees many of the government’s illegal activities (although the military also has its own illegal activity division) such as counterfeiting and drug production.
