Koryo Hotel

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Koryo Hotel
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl 고려호텔
Hancha 高麗호텔
Revised Romanization Goryeo Hotel
McCune–Reischauer Koryŏ Hot'el
Entrance to the hotel.

The Koryo Hotel is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea.[1] The twin-towered building is 143 metres (469 ft) tall and contains 43 stories.[2][3][4] Erected in 1985[4][5] under the scrutiny of Kim Il-sung, it was intended to "showcase the glory and strength of the DPRK." The hotel's extravagance is exemplified by its entryway, which consists of a 9-metre (30 ft) wide jade dragon's mouth[1] that leads into an expansive lobby dominated by a mosaic of North Korean cultural symbols.[1] The mosaic tiles make use of a wide variety of precious metals[6] and gemstones underneath low-dispersion glass panes, which are replaced biannually to preserve the mosaic's luster.

The hotel is rated three stars by Western standards.[7] North Korea rates it as five stars.[1] The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes it as "Deluxe" and the "best international hotel in Pyongyang".[8]

Location

The hotel is situated along the Taedong river in Chung-kuyok, central Pyongyang.

Accommodations

The lobby of Koryo Hotel

The hotel offers 500 rooms[9] although only about 50 rooms are occupied at any one time,[10][11][12] usually by business people from China, Africa, and the Middle East[13] and UN staff.[14] The Washington Times claims most of the hotel's foreign guests are international arms dealers.[15] The hotel does achieve full or near capacity every April 15 with delegations invited to celebrate Kim Il Sung's birthday.[16]

It would appear the United States Department of State has been using a guest room in the hotel since 2007 as a de facto office by a single employee to handle administrative affairs.[17]

Rooms and rates

According to the World Health Organization,[18] the rates are:

  • single, upper story room: US$112
  • double, upper story room: US$121
  • single, lower story room: US$102
  • double, lower story room: US$112

Rooms, services, food, and other goods within the hotel appear to be priced in dollars.[19]

In room TVs carry three channels.[20] Guests report power outages and recommend packing your own flashlight.[12] [21] Rooms are equipped with a mini-bar and are checked each day by a team of three people, of which one person inventories, the second recounts and a third supervises the pair.[12]

Amenities

Amenities include a hard currency gift shop, gym, a swimming pool,[6] a revolving restaurant on the 45th floor,[14] a circular bar on the 44th floor[13] and two movie theaters (one 200 seat cinema and one 70 seat cinema).[4] The hotel also features a billiards room[4] on the second floor[22] and a casino in the basement. The casino offers blackjack, roulette, and slot machines.[23] The casino is staffed by Chinese workers.[24] Amenities do not include the use of the Internet.[25]

Restaurants

Each tower is actually topped by a revolving restaurant, however only one is open.[11] One can order steak ("the best steak in town") at the restaurant.[22] The revolving restaurant apparently had a 9 pm closing time but in recent years the closing time has been extended or relaxed based on the quality of the guests' tipping.[26] Aside from the single open revolving restaurant, the hotel has four other restaurants including a Japanese restaurant and a Korean BBQ restaurant.[4]

The restaurants are run by Japanese expatriates and are run as private businesses but must pay a fee to the state.[27]

Guest liberty

By some reports guests are prevented by guards from leaving the hotel.[20][28] However, others report the ability to wander off the hotel grounds.[29][30] If one can wander off the grounds, the hotel is a few blocks from the city's restaurant district and the Pyongyang Railroad Station.[22]

Older Koryo Hotel

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 was kept under house arrest in the older Koryo Hotel.[31][32] When United Nations forces threatened to overrun Pyongyang in October 1950, it is thought he was executed.[33]

Koryo Hotel in South Korea

There is also a Koryo Hotel in Bucheon, South Korea.[34] Bucheon is satellite city of Seoul (located roughly halfway between Seoul and Incheon). It is popular with corporate travelers as it is one of the few hotels in the area which is not a by-the-hour "love hotel". Some larger companies in the area have travel agreements with this hotel, which is undergoing an expansion and renovation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "North Korea Travel Guides". HotelChatter. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  2. ↑ "Koryo Hotel, Pyongyang". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  3. ↑ Oh, Kong Dan; Hassig, Ralph C. (2000). North Korea through the looking glass. Brookings Institution. p. 117. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Koryo Hotel". Northkorea1on1.com. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  5. ↑ "Koryo Hotel (1985)". Structurae. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Hotels In North Korea, Hotels In Pyongyang". CountriesandCapitals. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  7. ↑ "Tour Tips". Koryo Tours. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  8. ↑ "List of Hotels - North Korea". Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. December 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. 
  9. ↑ "Individual tours, hotels description". Korea Konsult. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  10. ↑ Nugent, Colm (August 25, 2002). ""You have no choice of..." P'yongyang Hotel Tip". VirtualTourist. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gluckman, Ron (1991). "Life in Paradise". Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Young, James V.; Stueck, William Whitney (2003). Eye on Korea. Texas A&M University Press. p. 146. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 McElroy, Damien. "Whiskey, weapons go-go in Pyongyang". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Koryo Hotel". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2013-10-10. 
  15. ↑ "KCNA refutes fallacy". Korean News. Korean Central News Agency. May 20, 2002. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  16. ↑ Linton, Stephen W. (1997). "Life After Death in North Korea". In McCann, David R. Korea Briefing: Toward Reunification. Asia Society. p. 100. 
  17. ↑ "U.S. denies North Korea diplomatic ties report". Reuters. November 26, 2007. 
  18. ↑ "Information of Visitors to DPR Korea". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. 
  19. ↑ Rosenthal, Elisabeth (February 25, 2001). "Pyongyang Memo: North Koreans, Belts Tight, Cobble Up a Future". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Koryo Hotel". TripAdvisor. 
  21. ↑ "P'yongyang Hotels". VirtualTourist. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Linton, Stephen W. (1997). "Life After Death in North Korea". In McCann, David R. Korea Briefing: Toward Reunification. Asia Society. p. 98. 
  23. ↑ Keats, Walter L. "Slot Machines, Pyongyang Koryo Hotel, Pyongyang, DPRK". NorthKorea1on1.com. 
  24. ↑ "Arrival in Pyongyang". Yunkai. October 14, 2000. Archived from the original on 2009-06-25. 
  25. ↑ "Business". Korean Friendship Association. February 2011. 
  26. ↑ Gonglewski, John D. (2010-02-11). "Korean Pictures". Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. 
  27. ↑ Young, James V.; Stueck, William Whitney (2003). Eye on Korea. Texas A&M University Press. p. 148. 
  28. ↑ Oh, Kong Dan; Hassig, Ralph C. (2000). North Korea through the looking glass. Brookings Institution. p. 130. 
  29. ↑ "British Parliamentary visit to North Korea". British Association of Korean Studies. September 2005. Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. 
  30. ↑ Reilly, Justine (July 6, 2006). "Hot spot". Travel Blog. The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
  31. ↑ Lee, Bong (2003). The Unfinished War: Korea. Algora Publishing. p. 40. 
  32. ↑ Yup, Paik Sun; Paek, Sŏn-yŏp (1999). From Pusan to Panmunjom. Potomac Books. p. 82. 
  33. ↑ Post, Jerrold M.; Armstrong, Charles K. (2004). The North Korean Revolution, 1945-1950. Cornell University Press. 
  34. ↑ "Koryo Hotel, Bucheon, Korea". 

External links

Coordinates: 39°0′31.47″N 125°44′9.92″E / 39.0087417°N 125.7360889°E / 39.0087417; 125.7360889

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