James Scullin had worked as a North Korea tour guide for Westerners since 2012, but only ever saw the inside of two hotels. Determined to visit and photograph all 11 of them, he recruited photographer Nicole Reed to join him in 2018. The pair spent 12 months mapping out logistics.
Nicole Reed / Hotels of Pyongyang
Source: Hotels of Pyongyang
Built between 1961 and 1996 to house foreign visitors, many of Pyongyang’s international hotels feature brutalist exteriors. From the outside, they exude the sense of uniformity that is prevalent throughout the capital.
Nicole Reed / Hotels of Pyongyang
Source: Hotels of Pyongyang
On the inside, however, they tell a different story. Scullin and Reed encountered grand marble-lined foyers decorated with fake flowers and pastel colors …
Nicole Reed / Hotels of Pyongyang
Source: Hotels of Pyongyang
Before North Korea closed its borders to tourists due COVID-19, it received just a few hundred thousand tourists per year, mostly from China. In 2017, the United States banned citizens from visiting North Korea following the death of UVA student Otto Warmbier, who was detained by North Korean officials.
Nicole Reed / Hotels of Pyongyang
Source: New York Times, United Press International, New York Post, US Department of State