Erick Tseng is a former Google executive, where, as the Lead Product Manager, he helped launch and grow Android. He then became a bigwig at Facebook; he was hired to be the company’s Head of Mobile Products in 2010 and during his tenure at Facebook (he left in January, 2023), his roles included
In 2015, Erik had the opportunity to stay at the Koryo Hotel, located in Pyongyang, the capital and largest city in North Korea. According to Wikipedia, the Koryo is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea and one of the few hotels in the country where foreigners can stay. Built in 1985, it was intended to “showcase the glory and strength of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).”
North Korea rates the hotel as a 5 star facility but it rates only 3.5 stars on Tripadvisor. I suggest reading the reviews, BTW – they’re…interesting 😉 (all reviews, save for one, are from 2019 and before, due to the pandemic).
Anyway, back to Erik and his tour of the hotel, including the lobby and his room…
The fire that Erik spoke about in the video was indeed very hush-hush. There’s very little reference to it on the internet, although I did find this post (with a photo) on Reddit.
Erik also explored the rest of the hotel a little and discovered multiple floors that were empty and pitch black…
He and his team got to visit other areas of North Korea during their visit, which also meant staying at other hotels. This is a video of his stay at the Jangsusan Hotel in Pyongsong, a city that’s about 20 miles northeast of Pyongyang:
Erik has a few dozen videos, most between 1 and 5 minutes long, of his adventures in North Korea. They vary from the propaganda he encountered to a tour of the USS Pueblo warship, which the North Koreans captured in the late 1960s and is now part of the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. Very interesting stuff, if you want to get a taste of North Korea. Click here to take a look. Enjoy!
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