{"id":118600,"date":"2023-09-09T19:39:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T19:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=118600"},"modified":"2023-09-09T19:39:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T19:39:22","slug":"north-koreas-unfinished-hotel-of-doom-cost-1-6bn-but-never-hosted-a-guest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/world-news\/north-koreas-unfinished-hotel-of-doom-cost-1-6bn-but-never-hosted-a-guest\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea’s unfinished ‘Hotel of Doom’ cost \u00a31.6bn but never hosted a guest"},"content":{"rendered":"
A bizarre "Hotel of Doom" in Pyongyang has never had a single guest, despite costing an eye-watering \u00a31.6billion to build.<\/p>\n
North Korea is a nation shrouded in mystery and the strange triangular building at the heart of its capital city is just as baffling as the rest of the country.<\/p>\n
The Ryugyong Hotel boasts 105 storeys and has been under construction since 1987.<\/p>\n
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It was supposed to house visitors to the secretive nation and would have featured 3,000 rooms, but building work was ceased after the economy crumbled following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, reports CNN.<\/p>\n
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With North Korea having lost one of its major trading partners investment took a hit and in 1992 plans for the hotel were abandoned, with the exterior of the building complete but the interior left unfinished.<\/p>\n
It is now thought the Ryugyong is the world's tallest unoccupied building, standing 68ft taller than the Shard in London despite its many flaws, including "crooked" elevator shafts.<\/p>\n
It was even left without windows for 16 years.<\/p>\n
Architect Calvin Chua told CNN: "It\u2019s a very iconic building, but I think it\u2019s important to consider where it sits in relation to the entire city fabric of Pyongyang. It\u2019s like a sort of obelisk."<\/p>\n
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The hotel has three sections, each 328ft long and lying on a 75 degree slope that allows them to meet under an eight-storey cone that forms the building's penthouse. <\/p>\n
This was supposed to be home to five revolving restaurants, which would give unrivalled views over Pyongyang.<\/p>\n
The controversial building was finally revamped in 2008 when Egyptian contractors from the Orascom Group resumed work.<\/p>\n
The company installed glass panels across the entire building and the North Korean government even promised the hotel would be complete by 2012.<\/p>\n
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Some 11 years on, however, and the hotel has yet to welcome a visitor.<\/p>\n
Instead, the building is now used by dictator Kim Jong-un as a large screen to blast propaganda to the residents of Pyongyang.<\/p>\n
Over 100,000 LED screens have been installed which display government messaging as well as providing the backdrop for firework displays in the city.<\/p>\n
The German hotel group Kempinski previously announced it would manage the building but pulled out months later.<\/p>\n
It is estimated the building would take a further \u00a31.6bn to complete, which makes up a whopping five percent of North Korea's GDP.<\/p>\n
Rumours have circulated that building work could still be going on behind the scenes \u2013 but it is unclear whether or not this is true<\/p>\n
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