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  #801  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2013, 6:59 PM
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JACKinBeantown JACKinBeantown is offline
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The top reminds me of an old school Lego pine tree.


Credit is obvious.
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  #802  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 12:52 AM
Wayne Junction Wayne Junction is offline
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NK hotel

Quote:
Originally Posted by AaronPGH View Post
I'd love to see photos of the interior of this thing. Have any been floating around?
Better yet, I'd like to have a licensed building inspector's report on the building's infrastructure. After 20 some (+?) years under interrupted construction, the plumbing, wiring and elevators may be less-than-capable of withstanding the massive influx of tourists they expect to come pay homage to Fearless Leader's economic wasteland. All the shiny glass and glitz is true Communist era postcard posturing - just like the Eastern bloc's show of freshly-painted but barely-functioning tanks posing as ready for a NATO onslaught.

Speaking of elevators, it was rumored that a minor seismic event shifted the foundation and elevator shafts by a few degrees making them unusable above the tenth floor. It took a decade to fix this. Any truth to it? I know I read it somewhere years ago.

I still think it looks like Godzilla's outhouse.
     
     
  #803  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 11:01 AM
mrnyc mrnyc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dfiler View Post
America spent around .75% of GDP on the Apollo project. It is debatable which was the better investment.

At the time this building was being built, tourism was on the rise and a landmark hotel might have had a good projected return on investment. As compared to other economic development projects that could have been undertaken by NK, tourism promotion was quite logical. Competing in manufacturing or services would have been difficult. That leaves few other options. Unfortunately for NK, tensions worsened and tourism dropped off, leaving them with a building that would have to be repurposed to be useful.
wait, yr comparing a hotel to the nasa apollo program? and calling it debateable??

ok so lets indulge you for a minute -- besides being a grand human achievement as well as a peaceful cold war battle victory, here are 4 pages of apollo program spinoff benefits:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/pdf...n_ApolloFS.pdf

nk has...a shiny skinned, poorly built hotel.
     
     
  #804  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 5:06 PM
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Don't believe all rumours you read on the internet. The hotel is fine, otherwise the luxury hotel group Kempinski would have never even thought of signing up to build rooms there.

We have no idea whatsoever of the extent of wiring or plumbing that is in this building, since the only interior photos are from the lobby atrium which was nowhere near completed anyway.
     
     
  #805  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 7:50 PM
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Roadcruiser1 Roadcruiser1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AaronPGH View Post
I'd love to see photos of the interior of this thing. Have any been floating around?
Yes. Koryo Tours has taken some pictures a while back.

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/793847/thu...OTEL-570.jpg?6


http://static4.businessinsider.com/i...yong-hotel.jpg


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...e_2352296b.jpg


A bonus picture..........

http://www.viceland.com/viceblog/306...yong-hotel.jpg

     
     
  #806  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 7:52 PM
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Roadcruiser1 Roadcruiser1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne Junction View Post
Better yet, I'd like to have a licensed building inspector's report on the building's infrastructure. After 20 some (+?) years under interrupted construction, the plumbing, wiring and elevators may be less-than-capable of withstanding the massive influx of tourists they expect to come pay homage to Fearless Leader's economic wasteland. All the shiny glass and glitz is true Communist era postcard posturing - just like the Eastern bloc's show of freshly-painted but barely-functioning tanks posing as ready for a NATO onslaught.

Speaking of elevators, it was rumored that a minor seismic event shifted the foundation and elevator shafts by a few degrees making them unusable above the tenth floor. It took a decade to fix this. Any truth to it? I know I read it somewhere years ago.

I still think it looks like Godzilla's outhouse.
As the Administrators have said please keep politics out of this. Plus from all we have read this building is still just a shell..........
     
     
  #807  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 12:49 AM
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From probably a year or so ago
     
     
  #808  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 2:22 PM
dfiler dfiler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc View Post
wait, yr comparing a hotel to the nasa apollo program? and calling it debateable??

ok so lets indulge you for a minute -- besides being a grand human achievement as well as a peaceful cold war battle victory, here are 4 pages of apollo program spinoff benefits:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/pdf...n_ApolloFS.pdf

nk has...a shiny skinned, poorly built hotel.
Yes, if weighing the value of large national programs, the comparison can be useful. Every country spends money wisely and unwisely through the course of its history. Given the political strife between our nations, such comparisons can keep things in perspective.

In terms of return on investment relative to other possible projects, it is debatable if the Apollo project was an optimal expenditure of resources. If that money had been spent on civilian aerospace, medical research, or land based transit, etc, there could have been even more scientific advancement. It's tough to say.

For North Korea, think about what the alternatives were for getting more foreign cash into their country. Were exports an option? Telecom based service centers? When weighed against the options available, tourism and international travel accommodations were arguably a good investment at the time.

So why the comparison despite being completely different projects? It seems that national pride could have been a factor in both. Both nations wanted to prove themselves to the rest of the world. Both also wanted to foster high national moral. Once we get beyond that, there is good discussion to be had about if a landmark hotel was a reasonable investment for NK back when it was originally built. In my opinion, it may have been the best chance for NK to infuse foreign money into their economy.

It will be interesting to see if this building ever helps accomplish that goal. It may, but likely 5 decades later than intended.
     
     
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