According to Guinness World Records, at the height of 1,080 feet, North Korea’s Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang is the tallest unoccupied building in the world. As a result of the series of unfortunate events, this hotel was nicknamed “Hotel of Doom” and it has never hosted a single guest.
The construction of Ryugyong Hotel began in 1987 and reached its full height in 1992, but the inside was never completed up until these days. In a video uploaded by BRIGHT SIDE on Youtube, they tell a long history behind this abandoned skyscraper:
The construction of Ryugyong Hotel began in 1987 and reached its full height in 1992, but the inside was never completed up until these days.
The first scheduled opening was in the year 1987 but due to some engineering problems, the new opening date was set for 1992. Once again, problems with construction and lack of materials came up. The hotel needed financial investment to continue with the construction that was halfway done at that time. It was stopped in such a hurry that they accidentally left a crane on top of the almost completed building for almost 2 decades.
It was left unattended for 16 years. In 2008, the construction started again when a phone company, the Orascom group took over the project. In return, the hotel also served as a phone tower.
The new completion date was set for 2012 and everything was going smoothly with the rusty crane removed and glass panels covering the Ryugyong Hotel. Even though the outside of the building was gleaming, the interior of the hotel looks like an ancient tomb, with almost no work done. Another opening date passed as the construction once again stopped, with no obvious reasons.
The ‘Hotel of Doom’ was abandoned once more until it found a new purpose in 2018. Over 100,000 LED screens were installed on the front of this giant hotel. It serves as a backdrop of propaganda messages. According to the Associated Press, lighting designer, Kim Yong Il created a light show of political slogans and party symbols that play on the building’s facade for several hours every night.
Sources: Youtube BRIGHT SIDE, Insider