63 Building, South Korea



63 Building in Seoul
The 63 Building , officially the 63 City, is a skyscraper on Yeouido island, overlooking the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. At 249 meters (817 ft) high, it was the tallest building outside North America when completed in 1985, but as of 2010 is no longer in the top 100. It was South Korea's tallest building until Hyperion Tower surpassed it in 2003 and remained South Korea's tallest commercial building until the Northeast Asia Trade Tower was topped-out in 2009. The 63 Building was a result of a building boom in South Korea. 63 refers to the building's 63 official stories, of which 60 are above ground level and 3 are basement floors. The skyscraper is the headquarters of Korea Life Insurance, Industrial Bank of Korea Securities, and other major financial companies.

The 60th floor houses the world's tallest art gallery and an observation deck known as 63 Golden Tower, that allows visitors to see as far as Incheon on clear days. The 59th floor features international restaurants called Walking in the Cloud, while the 58th floor houses family restaurants called Touch the Sky. Observation elevators equipped with windows enable their passengers to view the city as they ride up to (or down from) the observation deck. In the evening, some elevators are available for only couples, called the Love Elevator, which gives them a 1 minute exclusive ride. The lower floors house an indoor shopping mall with approximately 90 stores, an Imax Theater, and a large aquarium. A convention center and banquet hall are also housed within the building. In July 5, 2009, a wax doll museum opened in third and fourth floor basement, which features real statutes of famous people in the world.

The 63 Building was featured in the computer games SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4, and featured on the cover of SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

A view of Han River & 63 Building

A view of Youido with dawn


The 63 building just before sunrise on new years day 2010