Koryo Hotel - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Koryo Hotel is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. The twin-towered building is 143 metres (469 ft) tall and contains 43 stories. Erected in 1985 under the close scrutiny of Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

, 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

Jade

Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...

dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

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

Contemporary culture of North Korea

The contemporary culture of North Korea is based on traditional Korean culture, but developed since the establishment of North Korea in 1948....

symbols. The mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

tiles make use of a wide variety of precious metal

Precious metal

A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value.Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high lustre, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals...

s and gemstone

Gemstone

A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...

s underneath low-dispersion glass panes, which are replaced biannually to preserve the mosaic's luster.

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

Location

The hotel is situated along the Taedong river

Taedong River

The Taedong River is a large river in North Korea. It rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north. It then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o. In between, it runs through the country's capital, Pyongyang. Along the river are landmarks such as the Juche Tower and Kim Il-sung...

in Chung-kuyok, central Pyongyang

Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

at 39°0′31.47"N 125°44′9.92"E.

Accommodations

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

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

Rooms and Rates

According to the World Health Organization, the rates are as follows:

single, upper story room: $112

double, upper story room: $121

single, lower story room: $102

double, lower story room: $112

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

In room TVs carry three channels. Guests report power outages and recommend packing your own flashlight.
Rooms are equipped with a mini-bar

Mini-bar

A mini-bar is a small, private snack and beverage bar often found in upscale Western-style hotel rooms.-Overview:Typically, a mini-bar comes in the form of a counter and small refrigerator stocked with a precise inventory. The room's guests can take a beverage or snack at any time during their stay...

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.

Amenities

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 movie theaters (one 200 seat cinema and one 70 seat cinema). The hotel also features a billiards room on the second floor and a casino in the basement. The casino offers blackjack

Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...

, roulette

Roulette

Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....

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

Restaurants

Each tower is actually topped by a revolving restaurant, however only one is open. One can order steak ("the best steak in town") at the restaurant. 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. 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 run by Japanese expatriates and are run as private businesses but 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. If one can wander off the grounds, the hotel is a few blocks from the city's restaurant district and the Pyongyang Railroad Station.

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

Cho Man-sik

Cho Man-sik was an activist in Korea's independence movement. He became involved in the power struggle that enveloped North Korea in the months following the Japanese surrender after World War II, but was eventually forced from power by the Soviet-backed communists in the north...

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

Koryo Hotel in South Korea

There is also a Koryo Hotel in Bucheon

Bucheon

Bucheon is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is sandwiched between Incheon and Seoul. Manufacturing operations are located in the city.Bucheon promotes itself as the cultural centre of the Seoul Metropolitan Area...

, South Korea. Bucheon is satellite city of Seoul (located roughly half way between Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

and Incheon

Incheon

The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...

). It is popular with corporate travelers as it is one of the few hotels in the area which are not by the hour "love hotels." Some larger companies in the area have travel agreements with this hotel, which is undergoing an expansion and renovation.

External links

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