It is kinda amusing to me that their megaprojects are all hotels and aimed at attracting tourists... when you consider that North Korea is right up along side with Afghanistan as places most people wouldn't dream of visiting, due to the high likelihood of not being able to leave again.

“Failed North Korean megaprojects” Simon, do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?

North Korea's entire GDP is equal to about 1.5 months of business for Samsung Electronics, and theyre trying to run a whole country complete with a nuclear armed submarine fleet, its not a surprise they bite off more than they can afford to chew

It doesn’t get more dystopian than having propaganda cartoons played for the public on a 105 floor building that’s intimidating on the outside and empty on the inside.

Places I don't want to vacation: 1) North Korea 2) Titanic Wreck

Am I the only one who's suspicious of the fact that it never looks like plumbing, gas, sewage, and water lines are not installed PRIOR to the buildings being built? Shouldn't there be all types of lines put down BEFORE you start buildiing? It always looks like they just clear the spaces, build the buildings, and the roads then "pretend" that the whole thing is going to actually be for humans to occupy.

I loved how in all propo photos of Kim visiting the many, many projects and initiatives he has in his country, he's followed by an entourage of his generals, scribbling on notepads like it matters. There has been no greater depiction of "the boss is here, look busy". Seriously, why are the bottlecap (their medals) generals overseeing the progress of a beach resort project?

I once talked to an engineer from east Germany who worked at the hotel in the late 80s as part of a exchange program between socialist countries (or something like this). He said for the price of 750 mio. US$ the building should have been easily finished. North Korea has it's own steel and concrete industry and the cost of labour is pretty much zero. The problem was apparently an insane level of corruption and misuse of funds where everyone and their grandma wanted to be bribed to do anything and government officials just moving the decimal dot (or comma, don't know what they use) to the right to literally pocket 90% of the money. Also the military would randomly confiscate material and machines never to be seen again. More over, the north korean workers who were organized in bataillons would be regularly assigned totally pointless jobs like brooming the roads when a foreign leader was visiting Pjongjang.

I swear every time I see the immense statues of the dear leaders, I immediately think of the statues of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. Come to think of it, Disney could easily do a better job of running North Korea.

Who the hell considers visiting or vacationing North Korea recreationally lol

At this point - I couldnt, and wouldnt think N.Korea could finish a Lego project, even if you gave them all the pieces...

I was in North Korea in 2012. Every hotel we stayed at was half empty. The Ryanggang hotel had a revolving restaurant that didn't revolve. We were stuck in the elevator twice because of power cuts. Hot water was limited to 1 hour in the morning and evening.

Just imagine if they spent that money on things that actually matter. They could have had been almost respected nation at this point rather than a laughingstock with a human muppet as a dictator.

The fact they think Westerners want to ever visit their dictatorship shows just how insanely delusional this regime is 😅😂

I love how Simon's voice is full of mocking laughter and sarcasm the entire video 😅😅

And so sad that their attempt at megaprojects only made the “Side Projects” show!

Authoritarian rulers are in love with these kinds of grandiose pet projects that serve as monuments to their egos.

I like how the only really successful accomplishment the country ever made was making statues and monuments dedicated to their leaders. Does show that whoever is in charge gets the say at what gets done, the rest is up to the scraps.

I've seen a few videos purportedly from tourists to North Korea who showed how their nearly antique in-hotel TVs and other electronic devices had enough cables in them to look like IT spaghetti. I wouldn't be surprised if the bedbugs had little microphones on them at this rate. How they expect to attract tourists while spying this hard on them is anyone's guess.

The glee with which you present this video is just glorious. :D

Go on then Whistle boy, entertain us!

"Worker turnover" just reads different in the context of some places.

Great strategy. I'm sure people will be rushing to have a vacation in North Korea. One of the most attractive countries to visit.

Staying in North Korean hotels is great! You get to pet wild dogs right in your room, and anything you need can be brought to you immediately since they're watching and listening to you for your entire stay! The sweeping view of unfinished buildings is only beat by the sight of their famous dirt farms and hunger competitions.

Like that disheveled gambler with the remainder of his savings in his hand muttering, "This is the roll. This one will change everything!"

I am just sad for the people living there.

The fact that the Kim Dynasty can't afford to feed their own people but they can splurge massive amounts of money on these failed "megaprojects" is fucking insane.

So this is Dubai...without the money.

Way back when my husband was a working aerospace engineer, he would need to fly to Taiwan many times - but the pilots had to be extremely careful about where they flew as it was very easy to just muck a corner of North Korea - which did happen once! Luckily the plane was not shot down!!

Another instance of the DPRK outdoing South Korea when it comes to height is flagpoles. In the 1980s, the South Korean/ROK government built a 99.8 m (327 ft) flagpole in Daeseong-dong, which flies the ROK flag weighing 130 kilograms (287 pounds). Naturally, the DPRK responded by building an even taller one, the Panmunjom flagpole, at 160 m (525 ft) with a 270 kg (595 pounds) flag in the village of Kijong-dong. For over a decade, the flagpole was the tallest supported flagpole in the world. But in 2010, Azerbaijan took the record as they built one in Baku at 162 m (531 ft). Currently, the Panmunjom flagpole is the sixth-tallest flagpole in the world. And another famous megaproject is of course our Rungrado 1st of May Stadium. After the 1988 Summer Olympics had been awarded to Seoul, the DPRK intensified its efforts to present itself as the legitimate Korean state. As part of these efforts, it successfully bid to organize the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang in 1989. Massive construction projects were initiated in preparation for the festival, one of which was the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium. It has a capacity of 114,000 and is home to the Arirang Mass Games, which is the world's largest gymnastics display. It was the world's largest stadium from 1989 to 2020 when India rebuilt Motera Stadium and renamed it Narendra Modi Stadium.

On an off hand I kinda dig the triangle/pyramid like architecture they keep going for with these failed hotels

You pretend to pay us, we pretend to work...

I love these videos because they make my own failures seem so small in comparison.

The major problem as I see it is anyone in the North Korean government thinking that anyone really wants to visit or invest in North Korea.

Even if I got a fully paid, all-inclusive trip to North Korea *nobody* could make me go. I'm way to curious for my own good and I swear I'd be screened and jailed in a heartbeat for asking something I think is completely normal, or just going on a walk and end up somewhere they wouldn't like. And then I have a huge problem with keeping my mouth shut when I see things that I think is deeply unfair, and that whole country is nothing if not *deeply fucking unfair* - so I'd probably come back from that trip in a coffin.

It's really the saddest of all stories of what the North Korean government has done to It's people. The Kim family puts all other dictators pale in comparison. I remember reading an article about North Korean refugees & how, because of the lack of proper nutrition, are all considerably smaller than their South Korean counterparts. May God have mercy on their souls (the people, not their government). 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️

The fact they just pretend it doesn't exist is hilariously pathetic. Ew! I would never go to that beach after learning it had been covered in faeces... all it takes is one missed and covered pile and your day is ruined.

I can't imagine one of the most repressive governments in the world having problems drawing tourist?

What a tragedy for Korea and the Korean people that they were used as pawns and their country split. It is beyond sad.

The Wonsan beach resort project reminds me of the Nazi workers (pre-WWII) vacation project, i.e., "The Colossus of Prora" along the Baltic Sea coast.

Can't believe that it's only an eleven minute video! Would have thought that it would have been at least 2 hours long 😂😂😂

Why anyone would want to visit is a mystery to me

A giant super close runway paralleling the beach and resort?! SEEMS SUPER AWESOME. 🥴👍🏼

Now please do the new MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. Seems like a good Megaproject.

NK makes me think of someone playing Civilization who doesnt quite know the rules, and makes a lot of bad decisions.

How many channels does this guy have/ is affiliated with.. I've seen him more times than I've seen my dad at this point

An amusing instance of North Korean business dealings was an order of 1000 Volvos from Sweden back in the 1970s. Volvo agreed to the order, delivered it, then North Korea decided to not pay up. It is now known as the largest car theft in history.

Kim- can I borrow money for a hotel? World- how do we know you won’t spend this money on nukes? Kim- oh, I got nuke money

Considering how valuable human feces is in this delightful country I would think people would flock there to collect it!

Airport 500 m from your hotel and Beach? Perfect place for rest 😆😆😆😆😆

Reading about NK is so surreal. From the parasite epidemics resulting from overusing human fertilizer, to the tallest building in the capital city being abandoned. The entire state is almost a parody of the faults of authoritarianism

1:48 it is so freaking ugly (and impractical). Update: Ok; it does look a lot better with glass on the outside; but it’s still impractical.

Failed megaprojects: 😕 Failed megaprojects, north korea: 😱😱

A megaproject they've completed successfully is the Nampo Dam. It was built by the Korean People's Army from 1981 to 1986, with the resources of the whole country directed to this big construction project during this time. It's located 15 km west of the special city of Nampo on the Taedong River which is the country's most important river. It closes off the Taedong from the Yellow Sea. Why? Because their goal was the prevention of seawater intrusion into the fresh water, thus solving the water supply problem as well as the irrigation of additional land, enlarging the arable territory of the region. It is a large, eight-km-long system of dams, three lock chambers, and 36 sluices, allowing the passage of ships up to 50,000 tons! The West Sea Barrage non-electrified railway line (which goes between Cholgwang and Sillyongri in Nampo) of the Korean State Railway also runs right across the dam! It was built at a cost of four billion US Dollars, and it's an achievement they are quite proud of as it's shown in many North Korea music videos as well as a backdrop for KCTV news segments. And of course, they take tourists there too!

I would actually love to see a video of sideprojects which the DPRK did complete, there must be something that a government like that must have acheived through sheer force of "will", I mean oppressive coercion, that's radical or impressive??

Who in their right mind would choose North Korea as a fun get away. Maybe North Korea could use the people who designed their nuclear weapons to build tourist sites.

It all gives off an atmosphere of a little kid mirroring their parents

Come, check out this hotel, come check out this beach, come check out the nuclear missile launch test? yeah I’ll get right on top of that. Various countries over the years have paying them off to not develop nuclear weapons. At this point I wouldn’t give them 20 bucks to change a tire.

I actually work in a building like that hotel. So poorly designed the skyscraper lists a bit because the materials used... well, you got what you paid for.

Simon, please, please, please tell us what a 'Japanese lounge' is?

0:50 - Chapter 1 - The hotel of doom 7:05 - Chapter 2 - Wonsan - kalma beach resort

20 dollars to anybody that can land on Kim jong-un head

01:39 - A Japanese lounge is where Geishas live and ply their trade 😂😂 We in the west call our equivalent....Brothels!

Fun Fact: The Ryugyong Hotel was featured in Mecenaries: World On Fire. It was the site of the first major boss battle and the player had to destroy it using a fuel air bomb.

Their biggest accomplishment is famine and death! 😮

Dude you have so many amazing channels, I love it 😊

That building was used in the background of a Netflix B-movie I saw a few years back. The context was that a group of people found a building that could jump through realities and they jumped into a version of New York City that was "20 years more advanced than us".

First Ferengi rule of business, right after profit, which as we all know is the definition of "business" is DON'T kill the investors... at no right away...

Why would any soul WILLINGLY go to North Korea?!?

North Korea skyscraper looks like a freaking housing project lmao lol.

Thoroughly enjoyed that into, great man

Can't wait to visit! 😊

It's sad, really. Imagine how many disappointed people wake up each and every day saying, "Y'know, I really, really wanted to vacation in the oppressive totalitarian regime of North Korea." Cheers....

Beach resort with average summer temperatures of around 20c lol

Who TF would wanna go there? lol

How are those Chevy trucks getting to North Korea? Plenty in those pictures..

HTF hasn't the North Korean government been overthrown yet from all this wasteful spending, I haven't a clue. When people are desperate, they will go to extreme lengths.

The tourist resort isn't insane to me in concept. We need only look at the success of places like Dubai to know that autocratic nightmare realms in a perpetual state of humanitarian crisis are still somehow considered perfectly acceptable places to go spend your money if the hotels are nice enough.

Lol I love the opening of this one, with Simon's head popping out of the centre of the screen like he's Porky Pig at the end of a WB cartoon.

I see Simon everywhere. But I am not complaining. I just hope to see him more.

feel sadness for people over there, caught in the grip of a sadistic crime family

I love the titles of some of these segments :D

And to think they could've just used all that money to invest in improving their agriculture infrastructure so that their people aren't constantly starving. And how the heck do you attract foreign investors and/or tourists when you're incredibly insensitive about your national pride that you have incidents and this horrible reputation of making people horribly suffer or worse: killed.

I enjoyed the mega projects channel plug at the beginning.

The yelp rating is 14/5

That’s crazy homeless people were able to move in I didn’t think shit like that could happen in such authoritarian countries

Strategic Nuclear Weapons, think about it.

Yes, because I want nothing more than to visit North Korea. It's totally a safe tourist destination and I'd never have to worry about my safety and ability to return home 🙄

"the elevator shaft is straight" "yes sir" that's the problem with dictatorships that won't take no for an answer "russia has the #2 top military equipment in the world" sure it does... North Korean tourism "you will have fun...or else!"

The hotel of doom is just a huge billboard kekw

i bet north korea has a riboff movie of indiana jones movie set in that hotel

I see the military wears lots of hats, Generals do it all, they are resort builders, auto mechanics, bakers, bus drivers and any other jobs needing help.

Ahh yes an expensive disco ball for a building

The simple throwaway of the phrase, "the hotel of doom has yet to open its doors" is so hysterical. The way Simon says it so casually with that super dry sarcastic wit that the British are so goddamn good at, is why I am subscribed to every single one of his channels, at least I think I'm subscribed to all of them, he has so freaking many I can't always keep track. 😂

Simon and Kevin are "today's equivalent" of the WONDER TWINS of the early 1980s!

Knowing what i know now, I’d still take the Titan to the Titanic before going to that portal of hell. South Korea - different story. My dad served there after the armistice and he’s often said he wish he could see the countryside around near where he served as a radio operator in the mountains.

This was almost mind-blowing

A lot of these projects are like irl Minecraft buildings. Just hollow buildings to pretend people will be there lol

lol, the beach RESORT WILL NEVER GET DONE!!

Of the Kim dynasty whose fault it is entirely that the entire country should have to live like this, I direct this pearl of wisdom from Karl Jung; 'People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls'.