Egypt to Resurrect Pyongyang’s Phantom Pyramid
By Dave Durbach
North Korea has reportedly resumed construction on the Ryugyong Hotel, one of the most awe-inspiring pieces of architecture anywhere in the world.
Situated in Sojang-dong, in the Potong-gang District of Pyongyang, the 105-story colossus was reportedly a Cold War response to South Korean contractor Ssangyong Group's completion of the Westin Stamford Hotel in Singapore in 1986, the tallest hotel in the world at the time.
Never one to be outdone, late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung responded with a hotel that would have dwarfed the Stamford, with well over twice as many rooms.
Using mainly French capital and technology, construction began in 1987. It was initially hoped that the Ryugyong's 3,000 rooms would open in June 1989 for the World Festival of Youth and Students, but construction problems postponed the completion date to 1992.
The cost of the project was estimated at $750 million ― a significant slice of North Korea's GDP.
By 1992, the building was still only 60 percent complete. Amid chronic economic problems and rumors of structural deficiencies, construction was suspended indefinitely.
With the basic structure complete, but no windows, fixtures or fittings installed, the hotel remained unoccupied, unopened, and unfinished for the next 16 years, a crane perched on top.
The building is massive almost beyond comprehension. At 105 stories and 330 meters high, it's by far the most prominent feature of the city's skyline.
Equally intimidating is its design: a triangular pyramid made up of three gray concrete wings rising at a drastic 75 degree angle to converge at the pinnacle, a circular structure containing eight floors intended to rotate, topped by a further six static floors.
It's clearly a matter of pride. While construction was still underway, the building was already on maps and postage stamps.
Later, as the dream faded, official photos were doctored to erase it from the skyline, a difficult prospect considering the hotel is visible from nearly everywhere in the city. And it's reportedly next to impossible to get anyone, even tour guides, to speak about it.
Those looking for symbolism needn't look far. An attempt by Kim II-sung to visualize his own power? The concrete embodiment of Juche ideology? The ultimate middle-finger to the rest of the world? North Korea's prolonged failure to finish it undermines everything it stands for, whatever exactly that may be.
The country's isolation only serves to sharpen public interest. Esquire magazine recently dubbed it the ``Worst Building in the History of Mankind'' and ``the only built piece of science fiction in the contemporary world."
``The single most unsettling structure ever erected by the hand of man,'' is what one blogger calls the Ryugyong, as it ``looms over Pyongyang like some kind of slumbering bat.'' Other sobriquets include the ``Hotel of Doom'' and the ``Phantom Pyramid.''
Others have been more constructive. Italian architects Extraneo put together the surrealistic ``Demolition S How'' video for an exhibition entitled ``Fiction Pyongyang.''
In June 2005, architecture magazine Domus launched an ideas competition for the Ryugyong, some entries for which were published in 2006 and displayed at the Milan Triennale.
The building even has its own virtual estate agents, two German ``custodians of the pyramid's diverse manifestations'' who run ryugyong.org, an ``experimental collaborative online architecture site'' where you can view detailed 3-D models and ``claim'' a subsection for yourself.
It must have come as a relief to some, and a painful reawakening to others, when Egypt's Orascom Group announced it would cough up the estimated $300 million needed to complete the hotel.
It could well cost more, however. The Ryugyong has never been certified safe for occupancy. Rumors abound that the building is structurally unsound and cannot be completed without a major overhaul.
The Orascom Group is no stranger to North Korea. In July 2007, Orascom Construction Industries purchased a 50 percent stake in the state-owned Sangwon cement factory for $115 million.
On January 30 this year, Orascom Telecom Holding was granted the first-ever commercial cell-phone license in North Korea, and proposed plans to invest $400 million in three years. On May 19, the company announced that it had succeeded in making its first test call, in preparation for the full launch later this year.
Looking back further, North Korea and Egypt have enjoyed close military ties over the past 30 years, particularly in the development of ballistic missiles. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been to North Korea several times.
In June 2007, Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-nam visited Cairo, where the president hosted a banquet in his honor.
Orascom's opportunistic involvement in North Korea could open the country up to the rest of the world, benefit the country's ailing economy and improve the lives of regular citizens.
Should it be completed, the Ryugyong could still be the tallest hotel and one of the 30 tallest buildings in the world ― not bad for something started over two decades ago. It could become a symbol of the country's recovery.
Failure to do so, however, will intensify the cloud of shame hanging over it. How exactly Orascom plan to complete the building is a mystery, but so are the pyramids, and who better than the Egyptians to try?
The writer is a South African teaching English in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province. He can be reached at durbdev@yahoo.co.in.