Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s top shipbuilder, will open its first luxury resort in Gangneung, a city on the east coast in Gangwon province, in 2015 by rebuilding its Hotel Hyundai near the Gyeongpodae beach, the company said in a press release on Thursday.

Richard Meier, an American architect and a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, will design the high-end resort, which will have a ‘hanok’ hotel, a 15-floor convention center, an outdoor performance hall, and a swimming pool. the company added.

The plan to build a landmark resort in the east coast had been pushed after Gangneung, a 33 km northeast of Pyeongchang, was selected as a venue for indoor games during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

“We expect the opening of the premium resort with such faculties as a convention center to give a boost to the regional economy,’’ the company said.

When it comes to hotel properties, Hyundai Heavy runs four hotel chains in Gangneung, and Gyeongju, Mokpo and Ulsan one overeas hotel in Vladivostok, Russia, under the name of Hyundai.

(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)