Ryugyong Hotel

The Ryugyong Hotel (; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is an unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ("capital of willows," 柳京 in Hanja) is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would include a hotel. Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered a period of economic crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. After 1992, the building stood topped out, but without any windows or interior fittings. In 2008, construction resumed, and the exterior was completed in 2011. The hotel was planned to open in 2012, the centenary of founding leader Kim Il Sung's birth. A partial opening was announced for 2013, but this was cancelled. In 2018, an LED display was fitted to one side, which is used to show propaganda animations and film scenes. Architecture The Ryugyong Hotel is tall, making it the most prominent feature of Pyongyang's skyline and the tallest building in North Korea. Construction of the Ryugyong Hotel was intended to be completed in time for the 80th birthday of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President Kim Il Sung in 1992; if this had been achieved, it would have held the title of world's tallest hotel. Before Goldin Finance 117 in China, it was considered the tallest unoccupied building in the world.