For North Korea, lavish hotels are no doubt a point of pride. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has been known to pour state funds into leisure complexes and hotel renovations. He once even ordered the demolition of South Korean buildings in the Mount Kumgang joint resort because they weren’t up to snuff — Kim reportedly said they were “shabby” and “with no national character at all.”

Now, a new book called “Hotels of Pyongyang” captures the aesthetic of North Korean tourism and leisure, whether it be velveteen, mustard chairs in a 1980s-style hotel bar or the neon lighting