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Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea - Things to Do in Ryugyong Hotel

Things to Do in Ryugyong Hotel

Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea - Complete Travel Guide

The Ryugyong Hotel spears Pyongyang's sky, a 105-story glass pyramid that catches sunrise like a mirror flashed at your eyes. Spot it anywhere. Three wings climb, merge, the top 40 floors wrapped in reflective panels contractors needed decades to fix. Peer between the fins: raw concrete cavities gape where rooms were never finished, giving the tower a honeycomb grin from certain angles. Long triangular shadows slice the Taedong River. On windy days you may hear metal groan high above. Visitors tilt heads, struggling to match this sci-fi shard with the 1950s blocks around it.

Top Things to Do in Ryugyong Hotel

Ryugyong exterior viewing from Kim Ill Sung Square

Stand on the square's eastern edge for the money shot: frame the pyramid against older Stalinist stone. Morning turns the skin silver-blue; sunset burns it copper. Golden hour wins. Guards may shuffle you on if you loiter with pro gear.

Booking Tip: Pyongyang tours list this stop. If yours skips, tell the guide you want architectural photo time. They usually oblige.

Construction site perimeter walk

Chain-link at the base lets you spy rusting rebar, frozen mixer drums, safety-orange workers on rounds. The air tastes of damp cement and diesel. After rain, puddles mirror the tower's belly.

Booking Tip: Guides give 10-15 minutes. Wear shoes that can handle red clay mud.

Evening LED light show observation

Since 2018 the crown lights up after dark. LEDs run patriotic loops: waving flags, doves, pulsing geometry against the night. Cross the river for the reflection. Calm water doubles the show.

Booking Tip: Shows start after 9 pm but schedules drift. Ask your guide that afternoon. Locals often know the day's code.

Skyscraper comparison at nearby Yanggakdo Hotel

Book Yanggakdo for a ruler on the pyramid. From the 35th-floor bar the Ryugyong dwarfs everything. Binoculars show cranes still parked up top, abandoned decades ago. One working hotel stares at its ghost twin.

Booking Tip: Request south-facing rooms at check-in. Staff get it. They'll oblige if available.

Architectural discussion at Korean Architecture Exhibition Hall

Ten minutes away a small museum keeps 1987 scale models beside what finally rose. Docents explain, through translation, why work froze during the famine years. The room smells of glue and old foam board. Feels like a school project.

Booking Tip: Tours run on the hour. Guides sometimes drop this stop. Say you're into socialist architecture. They'll add it.

Getting There

Fly Beijing to Pyongyang on Air Koryo. The only commercial flights leave Capital Airport Terminal 2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. Three hours later you touch down at Sunan International. A 40-minute drive through agricultural checkpoints lands you downtown. Tour operators fold airport transfers into visas. You won't touch the paperwork. Trains run from Dandong overnight. But foreigners need permits only certain agencies secure.

Getting Around

Pyongyang's metro charges five won per ride. Guides hand over tickets. Marble stations sit deep enough to serve as bomb shelters. Taxis cruise but foreigners cannot hail solo. Minders book state cars for the hotel run. Watch for 1970s Volvos still earning their keep, leftovers from Sweden's brief trade romance. Walking covers the center. Yet crossing the big boulevards demands patience. Lights cycle slowly.

Where to Stay

Yanggakdo Island: 47 floors, casino, revolving restaurant. Foreigners sleep here.

Koryo Hotel downtown: twin-tower vintage, 1980s charm, steps from Kim Il Sung Square.

Sosan Hotel - smaller, quieter option favored by Chinese business delegations

Pothonggang Hotel: riverside, angled sightlines toward Ryugyong's base.

Ryanggong Hotel: budget tower by the railway station, worn but central.

Kobangsan Guest House: compound on the outskirts, traditional courtyard layout.

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Food & Dining

State-run restaurants circle the Ryugyong, spinning variations on cold noodles and kimchi. Chongryu serves raengmyeon. Locals slurp the icy buckwheat broth loud. Kwangbok Department Store food court does decent fried chicken, though portions shrink by Western gauge. Guides reserve the Duck Barbecue House. Servers carve bird over gas flames, flooding the room with smoky fat. Autumn carts outside sell warm chestnuts in paper cones.

When to Visit

Late April through early June brings mild temperatures and the city's famous magnolia blooms, though you'll battle tour groups around Kim Il Sung's birthday celebrations. September offers similar weather with fewer crowds, plus clearer skies for photographing the Ryugyong's reflective surfaces. Winter turns brutal - think -15°C winds whipping between the hotel's wings - but the LED crown show appears more vivid against early darkness. Summer monsoons create dramatic cloud formations swirling around the pyramid's peak, if you don't mind occasional downpours.

Insider Tips

Pack a polarizing filter. The Ryugyong's glass panels throw glare that ruins shots without one. Reflections wash out photos. Bring the filter.
Guides warm to architectural curiosity. Ask about concrete mixes, steel sourcing, or lift mechanics. Technical questions buy you extra minutes at the stop. Use them.
The hotel appears on the 2000 won banknote. Crisp notes trade fast for foreign candy. Collect currency? Offer chocolate. Locals oblige.
Skip security checkpoints near the base. Point cameras upward instead. The pyramid itself rarely alarms guards. Shoot high, avoid ground level.

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Itineraries

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Getting Around

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Where to Stay

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