Ryugyong Hotel, Unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea
The Ryugyong Hotel is a 330 m (1,080 ft) pyramid-shaped tower in Pyongyang, North Korea, with 105 floors. Three wings, each 100 m long and 18 m wide, slope at 75 degrees and converge at a pinnacle topped by a 40 m-wide truncated cone of eight rotating floors above six static ones. Its pale blue glass facade is divided by a grid of seams, with rows of dark vents on the upper section.
Construction began in 1987 with plans for thousands of hotel rooms, retail space and dining areas, but work stopped in 1992. Economic hardship following the collapse of the Soviet Union left the interior unfinished for decades.
The name Ryugyong means "capital of willows", a historical name for Pyongyang. Since 2018 an LED display on one side has shown propaganda animations and film scenes, and the building appears on official imagery and postcards of the capital.
The building is not open for visits and remains unfinished inside, though the exterior shell is complete. You can view it from a distance while moving around the city, as it is visible from many points across Pyongyang.
The building's concrete shell was long said to be irreparable, and the elevator shafts were reported to be crooked, so lifts cannot serve the middle floors. In 2018 an LED display was fitted to one side, showing propaganda animations and film scenes.
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