Pyongyang luxury hotel gets more modern, less Soviet, style
PYONGYANG, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic Of — North Korea’s most famous luxury hotel has reopened after renovations that modernized its 1980s, vaguely Soviet, style.
The Koryo is one of Pyongyang’s best-known and most visible landmarks, with its twin towers in the centre of the capital. It was closed for several months while the first three floors were remodeled. The guest rooms weren’t changed.
People entering the hotel are now greeted by a brighter and more up-to-date look that — possibly to the disappointment of many exotica-seeking foreigners — is a sharp contrast with the opulent and vaguely Soviet style of its prior lobby.
The Koryo was built in 1985 under the instructions of North Korea’s “eternal president,” the late national founder Kim Il Sung, who wanted it to be a symbol of the country’s strength and modernity.