North Korea's "Hotel of Doom" set to Open

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/88f5044fe107.jpg[/atsimg]

North Korea began construction on what was to become the worlds tallest hotel back in 1987, a 105 story monument to North Korean dominance. Construction was halted back in 1992 for obvious reasons. Work restarted on the project a few years back and appears to be headed towards completion.

The massive Ryugyong Hotel, which towers over the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, has long been symbolic for all the wrong reasons. Built from 1987-1992, the monument was left unfinished at the end of the Cold War and languished for a decade and a half as a testament to the country's extravagant patriotic spending. Its planned seven revolving restaurants never even moved.

Now, after Egyptian conglomerate Orascom Group restarted construction on the pyramidal structure, the Ryugyong could become a symbol of even greater extravagance. Orascom has played a major role in the construction of North Korea's mobile telephone network, as well as that of Iraq's post-Saddam Coalition Provisional Authority. Both projects have met with skepticism from Western sources.

The overwhelming walls of grey glass that have gone up over the building's empty shell are no help to the perception that the renovation may be another waste of money for the impoverished country. The Independent quotes Lee Sang Jun, a professor of architecture at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, who said, "It is not a beautiful design. It carries little iconic or monumental significance, but sheer muscular and massive presence."

And why is it called the "Hotel of Doom" ... like most things of this nature safety, sound design principles, and quality building materials werent high on the list of priorities.

reply to post by SirMike


Is it just me or does this hotel look like its a 1950s flying saucer beaming something up?

Strange.

I was hoping for more when I saw the headline
Oh well, at least it doesn't have Short Round in the article.

This is a 3,000 room hotel!!!

Why are they building a hotel this big in a country that RARELY ever let's tourists into their country and who's citizens live mostly in poverty?

From a link from the OP's news source, ...

North Koreans revamp 'world's worst building'

According to foreign residents, the Egyptian conglomerate Orascom has just begun refurbishing the top floors of the pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel, whose 330m (1,083ft) frame dominates the skyline of the capital of North Korea, which is one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries.
*****SKIP*****
A creaky building crane has for years sat unused at the top of the 3,000-room hotel in a city that tourists are only occasionally allowed to visit.

This link actually DOES go on to speculate exactly why NK built this HUGE hotel, ...

The communist North started construction in 1987 in a possible fit of jealousy at South Korea, which was about to host the 1988 summer Olympics and show off to the world the success of its rapidly-developing economy.
******SKIP******
According to intelligence sources, the then North Korean leader, Kim Il-sung, saw the hotel as a symbol of his big dreams for the state he founded,

It was for, ATTENTION!

Pretty sad when you think of all the poor kids eating rats and worse to survive in NK.
The state stick to finishing their silly hotel.
Although,some of the pics look like CGI-I doubt the hotel looks the same in reality.
I bet they haven't finished it.
That place has been in many films about NK since the 80s,its almost a symbol for a dystopian nightmare. I bet the structure is seriously weakened by now,with all the weather erosion,crap concrete,slave labor and such.
They should get rid of it and plant a mini forest instead I think.
What an awful place to be born,a bad roll of the dice that could have happened to anyone of us.
.

With the exchange rates, I wonder how cheap it would be to travel to North Korea? I bet they are pretty good.

It would be cool to go check out this massive disaster of a hotel waiting to happen, before it happens.

Originally posted by TheInterceptor
reply to post by SirMike

 

Is it just me or does this hotel look like its a 1950s flying saucer beaming something up?

Strange.

Looks like a sinister mr X or cobra get away craft or weapon. LIL Kim is funny in the strangest ways