Ryugyong Hotel Failure
When a 105-story dream became a "Hotel of Doom
4.1 (26)
47 mins
Uncover the bizarre failure of North Korea’s Ryugyong Hotel, a 105-story pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed to showcase the country’s power and modernity. Explore how construction began in 1987, stalled in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and North Korea’s economic crisis, and remained frozen for 16 years.
Ep 1:
The Concrete Mountain of Pyongyang
We uncover the origins of North Korea's infamous Ryugyong Hotel, a 105-story pyramid born from Cold War jealousy, dictator's pride, and a physics-driven design nobody has ever lived in.
Ep 2:
Famine Beneath the Empty Tower
As the Ryugyong rises unfinished into the Pyongyang skyline, the Soviet collapse and a devastating famine expose the brutal cost of a dictator's vanity project on his starving people.
Ep 3:
Glass Skin, Hollow Bones
Egypt's Orascom wraps the abandoned skeleton in glittering glass, but the first outsiders allowed inside reveal a crumbling, powerless void hiding behind the shining facade.
Ep 4:
Empire of Light, Kingdom of Ruin
Decades later, the Ryugyong blazes with propaganda lights instead of guests, while failed hotel deals and casino rumors reveal a monument frozen forever between ambition and ruin.
Discussions (5)
Wesley
Level 5 · 1 week agoBiggest empty building and biggest ego same address lol
Fay
Level 4 · 1 week agoWorld's tallest paperweight 🏗️
William
Level 7 · 1 week agoKim blew 2% GDP on a hotel while people starved for it
