Prison Camps · North Hamgyong Province · Kwanliso
Camp 22, Hoeryong (22호 회령 관리소)
Political prison camp (kwanliso)
Closed ~2012Operated by: Ministry of State Security (Bowibu)
Camp 22 was a massive total control camp in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, holding an estimated 50,000 prisoners across hundreds of square kilometers. Testimonies from former guard Ahn Myong-chol documented systemic torture, forced abortion, and starvation rations. Satellite surveillance confirmed the camp was shuttered around 2012, though the fate of remaining prisoners remains unknown.
System Context & Human Rights Documentation
Political penal colonies like Camp 22, Hoeryong form the foundation of North Korea's state terror apparatus. Under the principle of three generations of punishment (yeonjwa-je), the relatives of those suspected of political crimes, including small children and elderly parents, are incarcerated without judicial trial. The 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry found that the crimes committed inside these camps (extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, and forced abortions) constitute crimes against humanity.