Towering above the world’s most secretive city lies a building that stands unfinished and empty, as it has for decades. Visiting North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, is virtually impossible for the majority of people, as its dictatorship tightly controls entry and rarely grants tourist visas. Even when access is allowed, travellers are heavily monitored and restricted from freely exploring the city. For most, therefore, the only insight we get into the country is through pictures and few and far between views on Google Earth.
Ryugyong Hotel is the tallest building in North Korea, standing at an impressive height of 1,080 feet – just taller than London’s 1,016-foot Shard. Often dubbed the “Hotel of Doom”, construction of this pyramid-shaped skyscraper began in 1987, but to this day, not a single guest has ever stayed there. In fact, since construction started, the World Wide Web has been invented and the Berlin Wall came down. Building was halted in 1992 when North Korea entered a period of economic crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. For well over a decade, the building stood topped out, but without any windows or interior fittings. In 2008, construction resumed, and the exterior was completed in 2011.
Construction of the Ryugyong Hotel was intended to be completed in time for President Kim Il Sung’s 80th birthday in 1992. If this had been achieved, it would have held the title of the world’s tallest hotel. Before Goldin Finance 117, it was considered the tallest unoccupied building in the world.
The structure was originally intended to house five revolving restaurants and either 3,000 or 7,665 guest rooms, according to different sources. In 2008, North Korean officials stated that the hotel would be completed by 2012, coinciding with the centenary of Kim’s birth.
In November 2012, international hotel operator Kempinski announced it would be running the hotel, which was expected to partially open in mid‑2013. However, in March 2013, plans to open the hotel were suspended.
In April 2018, a large LED display was fitted to one side, which is used to show propaganda animations and film scenes. In 2024, the North Korean government reportedly started to look for a casino operator willing to complete the building in exchange for profits made by the casino. However, gambling is prohibited in North Korea, so demand is low.
Unlike most modern skyscrapers, which feature steel due to its impressive strength-to-weight ratio, Ryugyong’s entire structure is made from reinforced concrete.
“If you look at most of the construction in North Korea, buildings are made of concrete – the entire industry is largely based on that material,” Chua said, according to The B1M. “It has got to do with the technology transfer between the communist states in Europe and the DPRK.
“So for example, East German engineers and architects were involved in the early city projects and planning in Pyongyang so what it did was to leave a legacy of prefab panels and in-situ concrete construction methods.”
Alongside the high cost of steel, which North Korea may struggle to afford, and the country’s familiarity with concrete, the latter also produces an intimidating aesthetic. Concrete is incredibly heavy, so any structure built from the material demands a massive footprint and a tapered design to avoid a top-heavy tower. The 1,080-foot-tall skyscraper features three wings, each measuring 330 feet long and 59 feet wide.
While the outside may appear very impressive, the inside of the Ryugyong is another story. It remains an empty, concrete shell, and will likely remain so for some time, unless North Korea can conjure up some form of foreign investment to get the job done.
