The Koryo Hotel (or Pyongyang Koryo Hotel) is the second largest operating hotel in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, the largest being the

Yanggakdo Hotel The Yanggakdo International Hotel is the largest operating hotel in North Korea, pending the completion of the Ryugyong Hotel, and the country's seventh- or eighth-tallest building. The hotel is located on Yanggak Island in the River Taedong, t ...

. The

Ryugyong Hotel The Ryugyong Hotel (; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is a tall unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ( "capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The ...

is larger than both, but is not yet operating. The twin-towered Koryo Hotel building is 143 metres (469 ft) tall and contains 43 stories. Erected in 1985 under

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

, it was intended to " showcase the glory and strength of the DPRK." The hotel is rated five stars by North Korea. A section of the hotel reportedly caught fire on 11 June 2015 due to undisclosed circumstances, leaving the bridge between the two buildings badly damaged.

Name

"Koryo" is the name of an early kingdom which is the source of the English name "Korea". It is also used in the name of the North Korean airline,

Air Koryo Air Koryo () is North Korea's flag carrier and only commercial airline. It is state-owned and controlled by the North Korean air force. Headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang, it operates domestic and international routeson a regular schedul ...

. The Koryo Hotel replaced an older hotel of the same name, but in a different location. For a time after 1946, the leader of North Korea's Democratic Party

Cho Man-sik Cho Man-sik (; 1 February 1883 – possibly October 1950), also known by his art name Godang (), was a Korean independence activist. He became involved in the power struggle that enveloped North Korea in the months following the Japanese su ...

was kept under house arrest in the older Koryo Hotel.

Location

The hotel is situated close to

Pyongyang Station Pyongyang station () is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is located in Yŏkchŏn-dong, Chung-guyŏk. Main information The station is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongŭi lines, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu ...

Chung-guyok Chung-guyok () is one of the 19 '' guyok'' which constitute the city of Pyongyang, North Korea. The district is located in the center of the city, between the Pothonggang Canal and Taedong River, and is bordered to the north by Moranbong-guyok, ...

, central

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

Features

The hotel's extravagance is exemplified by its entryway, which consists of a 9-metre (30 ft) wide

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

's mouth that leads into an expansive lobby dominated by a mosaic of North Korean cultural symbols. The

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

tiles make use of a wide variety of

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high Value (economics), economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less reactivity (chemistry), chemically reac ...

s and

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s underneath low-dispersion glass panes, which are replaced biannually to preserve the mosaic's luster. The hotel has 500 rooms. Rooms are equipped with a

mini-bar A minibar is a small refrigerator, typically an absorption refrigerator, in a hotel room or cruise ship stateroom. The hotel staff fill it with drinks and snacks for the guest to purchase during their stay. It is stocked with a precise inventor ...

and TV. Guests have reported power outages within the hotel grounds. Amenities include a hard currency gift shop, gym, a swimming pool, a revolving restaurant on the 45th floor, a circular bar on the 44th floor and two cinemas; one with 200 seats and one with 70 seats. There is a coffee shop on the ground floor. The hotel also features a billiards room on the second floor and a casino in the basement. The casino offers

blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, and slot machines. The casino is staffed by Chinese workers. Amenities do not include the use of the internet.

Restaurants

Each tower is topped by a revolving restaurant, however only one is open. The revolving restaurant apparently had a 9 pm closing time but in 2010 it was reported that in recent years the closing time would be extended or relaxed based on the quality of the guests' tipping. Aside from the single open revolving restaurant, the hotel has four other restaurants including a Japanese restaurant and a Korean BBQ restaurant. The restaurants are operated by Japanese expatriates and are run as private businesses, but they must pay a fee to the state.

Guest liberty

By some reports, guests are prevented by guards from leaving the hotel. However, others report the ability to wander off the hotel grounds. The hotel is a few blocks from the city's restaurant district and the Pyongyang Railroad Station.

References

External links

''Pyongyang Koryo Hotel'' picture album
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

{{coord, 39, 0, 31.47, N, 125, 44, 9.92, E, display=title Twin towers Skyscrapers in North Korea Skyscraper hotels Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants Buildings and structures completed in 1985 Hotel buildings completed in 1985 Hotels established in 1985 1985 establishments in North Korea 20th-century architecture in North Korea Casino hotels in Pyongyang