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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNorth Korea's "Hotel of Doom" is the largest abandoned building in the world
In 1987, workers began constructing what would be the tallest hotel in the world in Pyongyang, North Korea. The frame was finished two years latera little behind schedule, the structure was supposed to open in 1989. Then in 1992, after the collapse of ally and backer the Soviet Union, work stopped completely on Ryugyong Hotel.
The 105-story, 1,083-foot structure protrudes above the rest of the North Korean capital's skyline. It remains the largest abandoned building in the world.
The hope put forth by then-ruler Kim Il-Sung had been to build a hotel that would exemplify the country's robust tourism industry. It came to represent the opposite. The empty hotel seems like the perfect symbol for the isolated Communist nation with delusions of grandeur. More than $750 million has gone into the lodging that's frequently referred to as the "Hotel of Doom."
Ryugyong Hotel is not dead yet. An Egyptian company called Orascom started working on the project again in 2008, adding a glass exterior to the building's facade. But construction on the luxury hotel seems to have halted again. Recent reports have said the inside of the structure has no plumbing, electricity, or really anything at all. The gigantic building that looks like a winged spaceship from the outside serves to shroud a hollow interior.
The price of finishing this project would be steep. Although there is one man who might be able to help fund it, the Daily Beast notes:
In 2008, the South Korean media estimated that the Ryugyong project could require another $2 billion to finish construction and ensure safety, which is around 7 percent of North Korea's GDP. Perhaps Kim Jong-un, worth a rumoredand ill-gotten$5 billion, will dig into his own pockets to make good on a 30-year promise.
The 105-story, 1,083-foot structure protrudes above the rest of the North Korean capital's skyline. It remains the largest abandoned building in the world.
The hope put forth by then-ruler Kim Il-Sung had been to build a hotel that would exemplify the country's robust tourism industry. It came to represent the opposite. The empty hotel seems like the perfect symbol for the isolated Communist nation with delusions of grandeur. More than $750 million has gone into the lodging that's frequently referred to as the "Hotel of Doom."
Ryugyong Hotel is not dead yet. An Egyptian company called Orascom started working on the project again in 2008, adding a glass exterior to the building's facade. But construction on the luxury hotel seems to have halted again. Recent reports have said the inside of the structure has no plumbing, electricity, or really anything at all. The gigantic building that looks like a winged spaceship from the outside serves to shroud a hollow interior.
The price of finishing this project would be steep. Although there is one man who might be able to help fund it, the Daily Beast notes:
In 2008, the South Korean media estimated that the Ryugyong project could require another $2 billion to finish construction and ensure safety, which is around 7 percent of North Korea's GDP. Perhaps Kim Jong-un, worth a rumoredand ill-gotten$5 billion, will dig into his own pockets to make good on a 30-year promise.
http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/news/a42325/north-korea-abandonedryugyong-hotel/
North Korea is one of those countries that is just simply insane. How could you have such a closed, controlled, and isolated society but then build these monster hotels and airports? It's all for show.
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North Korea's "Hotel of Doom" is the largest abandoned building in the world (Original Post)
davidn3600
Feb 2016
OP
Can you even really call it a hotel, if it's got no plumbing, eletricty, or basically anything but
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
Feb 2016
#2
Wounded Bear
(58,668 posts)1. Who in the hell would go to North Korea?
I mean, really?
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)3. You know about those idiotic Americans who show up there -
and get thrown into prison.
Fla_Democrat
(2,547 posts)6. Dennis Rodman?
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)7. There are a few travel videos on YouTube of people who went there
Pretty good videos and pictures.
But they are a bit more brave than me.....
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)2. Can you even really call it a hotel, if it's got no plumbing, eletricty, or basically anything but
the shell? Might as well make it a modern day pyramidal tomb for Kim Jong Un.
ryan_cats
(2,061 posts)4. You
You could store grain in it.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)5. Coming soon to Venezuela...
Kaleva
(36,309 posts)8. Rent it to the below Super Friends and rename it "Hall of Justice-North Korean Style"