July 22, 2005

The Ryugyong "Hotel" in Pyongyang, North Korea is 330 meters (1,083 ft) tall. It has lain empty and unfinished since 1992, just a big ugly crumbling concrete hulk with no windows. No matter where you are in Pyongyang, you can't miss it, it bestrides the city like a colossus.

The hulk picture is from this Japanese page. Here's a good panoramic view from a DPRK travel blog by Peter Crowcroft. His pictures of Arirang on that page are neat too.

posted by un- 18 years ago
  • Gawrsh, I hate it when triangles try to dominate us. Didn't they learn anything from Egypt and Mexico? un-, you are doing Great Stuff! Thanks.
  • The Ryugyong has long fascinated me! Great post, un-!
  • un- is making everyone look a little silly on here. I know some homeless people that would love to live in that thing. I don't know how much crack they have in North Korea, but in my town that thing would be the ultimate crack house.
  • Like the Hulk, the angrier it gets, the bigger it gets.
  • When I saw the URL "Ryugyong_Ho.html" I thought it was going to be about more than just a skyscraper..
  • That is just, wow! What a great post. Thanks for sharing your nook 'n crannies of the internets with us un-, it's quite refreshing! Yeah, suddenly I feel strangely hesitant to post my finds... just not good enough... the bar has been raised!
  • rolypolyman, in Crawford's travel blog, he says his guide asked him "What is prostitution?" Apparently, there are no ho's in the workers' paradise of the DPRK.
  • Or as the British used to say, "What ho, old chap!"
  • The Ryugyong Hotel looms over Pyongyang like some kind of slumbering bat. very cool.
  • Think of how many North Koreans could be fed with all that concrete...
  • That is creepy as hell. Fascinating. This is an outstanding post, btw.
  • art moderne superbe
  • I agree....good post... Lots of things in the world that i don't know about... How many of you did a search hoping to find an "urban explorer" site from someone who has taken pictures from the inside (even if you know it was unlikely given that this is North Korea)?
  • Another fascinating DPRK travel blog can be found here.
  • that the guides claim not to know where it is is fascinating alone. Awesome post un- )))! indeed the bar has been raised! We all have our assignments people! Let's go!
  • Ummm... I'm surprised no one's mentioned it yet.... but I wonder if it's some James Bond-esque villain type hangout.. Oh suuuure... it's an "abandoned hotel" yuh-huh... I bet Kim Jong Il has a squadron of stealth Harriers with nukes down there... Oh! I bet the ENTIRE thing is a giant spaceship which will take off from the DPRK, and send fiery laser death raining upon the capitalist pigs!!!! NO!!!! IT'S A HATCHERY FOR SHARKS... WITH FREAKIN' LASERS MAN!!!!!!!
  • NO!!! THEY'RE FLYING SHARKS WITH LASER AND TITANIUM SKIN!!!!! AHHHH THE SKY IS FALLING!!! Seriously... good post.... :)
  • Debaser626 takes it.