Hotel Haegumgang: The tragic and unexpected saga of North Korea’s floating hotel

Once a luxurious five-star resort hovering above Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, it now lies abandoned in a North Korean port, just 20 minutes from the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily restricted area that divides the two Koreas.

For the world’s first floating hotel, this marks the final chapter in a strange 10,000-mile journey that began over 30 years ago with lavish helicopter rides and exquisite dining, only to end in disaster.

Now slated for demolition, this rusting relic with a colorful history faces an uncertain future.

Intelligence reports from South Korea indicate that the floating Hotel Haegumgang was among the locations destroyed by the North Korean government in 2022, alongside Onjonggak Rest House, a site previously used for televised reunions of families separated by the DMZ.

Here’s more on the significance of Mount Kumgang and why the floating hotel may be lost forever.

It’s a sorrowful conclusion to a long and vibrant tale, which unfolds further below.

A night at the Reef

The floating hotel was conceived by Doug Tarca, an Italian-born professional diver and entrepreneur based in Townsville, located on the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia.

‘He had a deep affection for the Great Barrier Reef,’ says Robert de Jong, a curator at the Townsville Maritime Museum. In 1983, Tarca founded Reef Link, a company that transported day-trippers by catamaran from Townsville to a reef formation off the coast.

‘But then he thought, ‘Why not let people stay on the reef overnight?’’

Initially, Tarca considered permanently mooring old cruise ships to the reef, but he soon realized it would be both more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable to create a custom floating hotel. Construction began in 1986 at Singapore’s Bethlehem shipyard, a subsidiary of a now-defunct major US steel company.

‘It’s a horseshoe-shaped reef, with calm waters at its center, making it perfect for a floating hotel,’ says de Jong.

The hotel was anchored to the ocean floor with seven massive anchors, carefully placed to avoid damaging the reef. It was designed with minimal environmental impact in mind: no sewage was discharged into the water, the water was recirculated, and all waste was transported to the mainland.

Named the Four Seasons Barrier Reef Resort, it officially opened its doors on March 9, 1988.

‘It was a five-star resort and certainly not inexpensive,’ says de Jong. ‘It featured 176 rooms and could host up to 350 guests. The amenities included a nightclub, two restaurants, a research laboratory, a library, and a shop selling diving equipment. There was even a tennis court, although I suspect most of the tennis balls ended up in the Pacific.’

A bottle of whisky

The hotel initially attracted considerable attention and quickly became a diver's paradise. Even those who didn’t dive could take in the breathtaking views of the reef, thanks to a special submersible called The Yellow Submarine.

However, it soon became apparent that the challenges posed by bad weather on guests had been significantly underestimated.

‘If the weather was bad and you needed to return to town to catch a flight, the helicopter couldn’t fly and the catamaran couldn’t sail, which caused a lot of inconvenience,’ says de Jong.

Interestingly, hotel staff lived on the top floor, which was the least favorable location in a floating hotel because it swayed the most. According to de Jong, staff used an empty whisky bottle hanging from the ceiling to measure the roughness of the sea: when it started swinging uncontrollably, they knew many guests would likely be seasick.

‘That was likely one of the reasons the hotel never truly became a commercial success,’ he says.

Other challenges also emerged: just one week before its grand opening, a cyclone severely damaged the freshwater pool, rendering it unusable. A nearby World War II ammunition dump, located just two miles away, deterred some potential guests. Additionally, aside from diving and snorkeling, there wasn't much else to do on the property.

After only a year in operation, the Four Seasons Barrier Reef Resort became too costly to maintain and shut its doors without ever achieving full occupancy.

‘It quietly disappeared,’ says de Jong. ‘Eventually, it was sold to a company in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which was hoping to attract tourists.’

An unexpected destination

In 1989, the floating hotel began its second chapter, traveling 3,400 miles north. Rebranded as the Saigon Hotel, but more commonly known as ‘The Floater,’ it was anchored in the Saigon River for nearly ten years.

‘It became quite successful, and I think the key reason was that it wasn’t isolated but was located on a waterfront. While it was floating, it was still tethered to the mainland,’ says de Jong.

However, in 1998, The Floater faced financial difficulties and shut down. But instead of being decommissioned, it found a surprising new purpose: North Korea purchased it to attract tourists to Mount Kumgang, a picturesque area near the South Korean border.

‘At the time, the two Koreas were making efforts to build bridges, having dialogues with each other. However, many hotels in North Korea were not really suitable for tourists,’ says de Jong.

After another 2,800-mile journey, the floating hotel embarked on its third chapter, now rebranded as Hotel Haegumgang. It opened in October 2000, under the management of South Korea's Hyundai Asan, a company that also operated other local facilities and offered tour packages for South Korean visitors.

Over the years, the Mount Kumgang region has drawn more than 2 million visitors, according to Park Sung-uk, a spokesperson for Hyundai Asan.

‘Moreover, the Mount Kumgang Tour played a significant role in improving inter-Korean relations and became a central point for reunions of separated families, helping to heal the wounds of national division,’ he adds.

A tragedy

In 2008, a North Korean soldier shot and killed a 53-year-old South Korean woman who had strayed beyond the Mount Kumgang tourist zone into a restricted military area. Following the incident, Hyundai Asan halted all tours, and Hotel Haegumgang closed its doors permanently.

It remains unclear if the hotel has resumed operations since, but it has certainly not welcomed South Korean tourists.

‘Details are scarce, but I suspect the hotel was only in use by North Korea's ruling party members,’ says de Jong. On Google Maps, the hotel can still be seen docked at a pier in Mount Kumgang, slowly deteriorating.

In 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visited the Mount Kumgang tourist region and criticized many of its facilities, including Hotel Haegumgang, for being in poor condition. He ordered the demolition of several buildings as part of a redesign plan to reflect North Korean cultural values. However, the onset of the pandemic delayed these plans, and it remains uncertain whether the demolition will proceed or not.

For now, the floating hotel continues to stand, its unique legacy preserved. It will likely remain a one-of-a-kind structure, as the concept of floating hotels has never truly gained widespread popularity.

Or perhaps – in a way – it has.

‘The oceans are filled with floating hotels,’ says de Jong. ‘They’re just called cruise ships.’