Construction of East Asia's Tallest Building Starts

The construction of the world's second tallest building starts in Seoul on Friday. The ground-breaking ceremony for the 133-story skyscraper tentatively called the DMC Landmark Tower will be held at Digital Media City in Sangam-dong, northwestern Seoul. Construction is to be complete in 2015.

Built on a 37,280 sq.m plot, the ultra high-riser will stand 640 m tall, the world's second tallest after the 160-story, 818m Burj Dubai being built by Korean developer Samsung C&T in the United Arab Emirates.

The DMC Landmark Tower will be 8 m taller than China's Shanghai Dragon, to be completed in 2014, becoming East Asia's tallest building.

The 133rd floor of the DMC Landmark Tower will house an observatory 540 m off the ground, 66 m higher than the observatory of the Shanghai World Financial Center. The skyscraper will house a hotel, broadcasting facility, apartments, offices, a department store and a shopping mall.