14호 개천 관리소 · South Pyongan Province
Camp 14, Kaechon
Operating~15,000 prisoners
Total control zone where prisoners are never released. Shin Dong-hyuk (Escape from Camp 14) says he was born here.
Human Rights & Detention
North Korean Prison Camps & Detention Facilities
The DPRK operates a two-tier concentration camp system: secret political prison camps (kwanliso) where an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people are imprisoned under lifetime sentences, and correctional re-education facilities (kyohwaso) where prisoners perform hazardous forced labor.
24tracked facilities
9kwanliso political camps
15kyohwaso penal camps
~100,000+est. prisoners (UN COI)
Explore all camps on the interactive Intel Map →
Political Prison Camps (Kwanliso)
Operated by the secret police (Ministry of State Security). Prisoners are detained without trial or legal representation, often alongside three generations of their family under guilt-by-association (yeonjwa-je).
25호 청진 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province
Camp 25, Chongjin
Operating, expanded in the 2010s~5,000 prisoners
Political prison camp on the edge of Chongjin. Satellite imagery showed new guard posts and buildings in the 2010s.
15호 요덕 관리소 · South Hamgyong Province
Camp 15, Yodok
Reported closed or downsized, disputed
Had a "revolutionizing zone" from which some prisoners were released, which is why most early camp testimony comes from here. Kang Chol-hwan (The Aquariums of Pyongyang) was held here as a child.
16호 화성 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province
Camp 16, Hwasong
Operating~20,000 prisoners
The largest known political prison camp, a few km from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Tens of thousands of prisoners estimated.
22호 회령 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province
Camp 22, Hoeryong
Closed ~2012
Once one of the largest camps. Closed around 2012. What happened to its prisoners is unknown.
18호 북창 관리소 · South Pyongan Province
Camp 18, Pukchang
Reported closed or merged~27,000 prisoners
Mining camp across the river from Camp 14. Reports suggest it was closed or merged in the 2000s, though parts may still be used.
이골 수용 시설 · South Hamgyong Province
Facility at I-gol
Operating (per HRNK)
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony or listed by NGO reports. However, the satellite images share the appearance of other well documented kyo-hwa-so. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
우단 수용 시설 · North Hamgyong Province
Facility at Udan
Operating (per HRNK)
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony or listed by NGO reports. However, the satellite images share the appearance of other well documented kyo-hwa-so. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
처마봉 통제구역 · South Pyongan Province
Ch’oma-bong Restricted Area
Operating (per HRNK)
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Mining, agricultural production Detailed analysis of Ch’oma-bong Restricted Area can be found in this 2016 HRNK report: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/ASA_HRNK_Chmbg_201603_FINAL.pdf
Correctional Prisons (Kyohwaso) & Penal Labor
Operated by the Ministry of Social Security (regular police). Sentences are nominally fixed-term for economic infractions, unauthorized border crossing, or illegal telephone contact, but death rates from malnutrition and abuse are exceptionally high.
8호 용담 교화소 · Kangwon Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Yongdam
Operating (per HRNK)~2,000 prisoners
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. Both NKDB and KINU mention Yongdam as an unnumbered kyo-hwa-so located in Chonnae-gun, Kangwon Province. The 2011 NKDB volume, Prisoners in North Korea Today, lists a “Prison No. 8” located in the Seungho area of Pyongang. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
11호 증산 교화소 · South Pyongan Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 11, Chung-san
Operating (per HRNK)
Kyo-hwa-so No. 11, Chung-san is also transliterated as Chonsan, Jungsan, and Jeungsan. 500 Type of prisoners: Men, women, border crossers, political prisoners Type of Labor: Farming, construction, manufacturing Detailed analysis of Kyo-hwa-so No. 11, Chung-san can be found in this 2017 HRNK report: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Hawk_The_Parallel_Gulag_Web.pdf
7호 강계 교화소 · Chagang Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 7, Kanggye
Operating (per HRNK)
Kyo-hwa-so No. 7, Kanggye is also transliterated as Kangkye and Ganggye. Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. It has been listed in NKDB and KINU reports. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
2호 동림 교화소 · North Pyongan Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 2, Dongrim
Operating (per HRNK)
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. It has been listed in NKDB reports in 2011 and 2016, as well as KINU reports in 2014 and 2016. There is no further information about its current state of operation. A second location associated with this camp known as Obong Workers' District is located at 39° 52’5.42”N 124° 44’59.35”E.
88호 원산 교화소 · Kangwon Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 88, Wonsan
Operating (per HRNK)
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Unknown This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. It has been previously listed in NKDB and KINU reports. There is no further information about its current state of operation. A second location associated with this camp is located in Chuksan-ri at 39° 11’57.43”N 127° 20’45.07”E
9호 함흥 교화소 · South Hamgyong Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 9, Hamhung
Operating (per HRNK)
Also transliterated as Hamheung, the 2011 NKDB report locates Kyo-hwa-so No. 9, Hamhung Men’s Prison at Hoeyang, Hoesang Area, Hamhung City, while Hamhung Women’s Prison is located at Songwon Village, which is also spelled as Sungwon, Hoesang Area, Hamhung City. 500 Type of prisoners: Men, women, political prisoners, forcibly repatriated women Type of Labor: Sewing, farming, gold mining A second location associated with this camp known as Hamhung Women's Prison is located in Sungwon-ri at 40° 3
순천 교화소 · South Pyongan Province
Sunchon Kyo-hwa-so
Operating (per HRNK)~400 prisoners
Sunchon Kyo-hwa-so is sometimes known as Sukchon Kyo-hwa-so. Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Gold mining This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. It has been listed in NKDB and KINU reports. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
8호 승호리 교화소 · Pyongyang
Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Sungho-ri
Operating (per HRNK)~2,000 prisoners
Type of prisoners: Unknown Type of Labor: Coal mining This location has not been confirmed by HRNK prisoner testimony. It has been previously listed in NKDB and KINU reports. There is no further information about its current state of operation. Detailed analysis of Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Sungho-ri can be found in this 2019 HRNK report: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Bermudez_Pokchongni_FINALFINAL_Web.pdf
3호 신의주 교화소 · North Pyongan Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 3, Sinuiju
Operating (per HRNK)~2,500 prisoners
Type of prisoners: Men, criminal offenders, political prisoners, other (uknown) Type of Labor: Rock and gold mining, prison uniform manufacturing This location is not yet confirmed. It has been listed in NKDB and KINU reports. There is no further information about its current state of operation.
1호 개천 교화소 · South Pyongan Province
Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon
Operating~4,000 prisoners
Re-education prison for people convicted of crimes. Survivors describe forced labor and high death rates.
4호 강동 교화소 · Pyongyang City
Kyo-hwa-so No. 4, Kangdong
Operating (per HRNK)~1,000 prisoners
Also transliterated as Gangdong, Kyo-hwa-so No. 4, Kangdong is located in Chael-kol on the eastern outskirts of Pyongyang close to South Pyongan Province. to 4,000 Type of prisoners: Men, civilian and military offenders, political prisoners Type of Labor: Limestone and cement production Detailed analysis of Kyo-hwa-so No. 4, Kangdong can be found in this 2019 HRNK report: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Bermudez_Kangdong_FINALFINAL.pdf
12호 전거리 교화소 · North Hamgyong Province
Kyohwaso No. 12, Chongori
Operating~2,300 prisoners
Holds many people forcibly sent back from China after escaping. Testimony describes starvation and abuse, especially of women.
6호 사리원 교화소 · North Hwanghae Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 6, Sariwon
Operating (per HRNK)~3,000 prisoners
to 4,000 Type of prisoners: Men, political prisoners Type of Labor: Clothing and Shoe factory, farming, "model detention facility" Kyo-hwa-so No. 6, Sariwon was one of the earliest North Korean prison camps to become widely known about outside of North Korea because of the involvement of Amnesty International in the release of Ali Lameda and Jacques Sedillot. They were members in good standing in the Venezuelan and French, respectively, communist parties. In 1967, both were recruited to Pyongyan
22호 영광(오로) 교화소 · South Hamgyong Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 22, Oro
Reported closed~1,100 prisoners
It is believed that Kyo-hwa-so No. 22, Oro was closed around 2008. Type of prisoners: Men, women, political prisoners, short term prisoners Type of Labor: Construction This location is not yet confirmed. It has been listed in NKDB and KINU reports as well as identified in prisoner testimony. There is no further information about its current state of operation. A second location associated with this camp is located in Pungho-ri at 40° 1’19.71”N 127° 25’55.91”E. A third location associated with t
77호 단천 교화소 · South Hamgyong Province
Kyo-hwa-so No. 77, Danchon
Reported closed
It is believed that Kyo-hwa-so No. 77, Danchon was closed around 1997. However, the locations identified here appear to be in operation. Type of prisoners: Men, political prisoners, genuine criminal offenders, border crossers Type of Labor: Gold mining This location is not yet confirmed. It has been listed in NKDB reports as well as identified in prisoner testimony. There is no further information about its current state of operation. A second location associated with this camp is located in Sa