The "cursed" 3-room hotel built in 1987 to be a casino in North Korea has never received a single guest.

This hotel has already broken several records. It is one of the 50 tallest buildings in the world (330 meters high), has been without a single guest for 32 years, and is the tallest abandoned building in the world, with 105 floors.

The Ryugyong Hotel was planned to be the crown jewel of North Korea, but it became a curse. It was built in 1987, when the country's leader was Kim Il-sung, grandfather of the current Kim Jong-un. The idea was that it would be inaugurated in 1989 and showcase itself to the world as an architectural gem. But economic problems and the Great Depression of 1991, along with the collapse of the USSR, halted the building's construction.

The Ryugyong Hotel was an obsession for North Korean leaders. But obsessions require money. And with the exterior structure almost complete, what remained was finishing the interior. But how to explain to the 25 million North Koreans in the 1990s that they didn't need to eat, but rather that this gigantic monster had to be finished? Between 90 and 2000, up to three million North Koreans died of starvation. And it was revolting to see so much money spent on such a project.

In 2008, the gigantic abandoned building received new workers. For the North Korean rulers, it was a pity they couldn't finish their most promoted structure sooner.

An Egyptian telecommunications company, Orascom, which has offices in North Korea, decided to finish the construction. In addition to the 3.000 rooms, 8 revolving restaurants, and several casinos and nightclubs, the Egyptians also undertook other innovations.

View from inside the 105th floor.

Orascom invested US$400 million to complete the hotel in exchange for installing the country's mobile infrastructure. They spent US$180 million to cover the entire hotel with a blue mirror. The Ryugyong Hotel looked like a real building. From the outside. Inside it was still empty. A shell without contents.

Esquire magazine declared the hotel "The worst building in the history of mankind." And it remains closed. But in 2018, leader Kim Jong-un launched a propaganda campaign to announce the hotel's opening, even though the building still lacks electricity.

But Kim decided to decorate it with over 100.000 LED lights that, for several hours, broadcast propaganda and the North Korean flag, visible from anywhere in the Korean capital.

Many believe that Kim Jong-un has two dates in mind to inaugurate the tallest building in his country. It could be December 30th of this year, when he completes 8 years in power. Or January 8th of next year, when the leader turns 36. ( Mysteries of the World )