Directory
Who is helping North Koreans
22 groups doing rescue, information, documentation, resettlement and research, with what they do and how to help. Several lost US funding in 2025, so we mark that too. Status was last checked 2026-10-01. This isn't an endorsement or an audit, so do your own reading before giving big amounts.
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK)
Funds rescues of North Korean refugees from China to safety in Southeast Asia, then supports them as they resettle. Also runs storytelling and campaigns.
1,400+ rescues so far, 17 in 2025. About $3,000 per rescue.
Flash Drives for Freedom (Human Rights Foundation)
Collects used USB drives, loads them with films, Korean Wikipedia and news, and gets them into North Korea through partner groups.
Still running in 2026: 140,000+ drives donated or pledged.
Unification Media Group (UMG)
Produces radio broadcasts and media aimed at listeners inside North Korea, much of it made by escapees.
One of the few broadcasters left after Radio Free Asia’s Korean service closed in July 2025. Affected by 2025 US grant cuts.
Daily NK
News from a network of sources inside North Korea: market prices, crackdowns, executions, daily life.
Named by HRW among groups at risk after 2025 US funding cuts.
NKDB (Database Center for North Korean Human Rights)
Interviews escapees and keeps the largest database of North Korean human rights violations, plus a prison database.
Affected by 2025 US grant cuts.
Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
Maps execution and burial sites and builds the evidence base for future accountability and transitional justice.
Korea Future
Documents abuses in the North Korean penal system case by case, identifying victims and perpetrators.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK)
Research and advocacy. Its satellite imagery reports on individual prison camps (and The Hidden Gulag) are the standard reference.
Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR)
One of the oldest North Korean human rights groups. Advocacy, education and support for escapees.
Marked 30 years in 2026.
PSCORE
Founded by escapees. Runs education programs and one-on-one tutoring for North Koreans in South Korea, plus advocacy.
Freedom Speakers International (formerly TNKR)
Matches North Korean escapees with volunteer English tutors and public speaking coaches. Refugees pick their own tutors. 600+ refugees and 1,200+ volunteers so far.
Crossing Borders
Cares for North Korean refugees hiding in China, especially women and children, including children born to North Korean mothers there.
Durihana
Christian group that has helped North Koreans escape through China and runs a school for young escapees in Seoul.
NAUH (Now, Action & Unity for Human Rights)
Escapee-led group founded by Ji Seong-ho. Rescue support, information work and advocacy.
NK Watch
Founded by former prison camp guard Ahn Myeong-chul. Collects testimony from camp survivors and files cases with the UN.
North Korea Freedom Coalition
Coalition of groups behind North Korea Freedom Week. Lobbies the US government on refugees and human rights.
UN Human Rights Office in Seoul
The UN field office set up after the 2014 Commission of Inquiry. Interviews escapees and keeps a central record for accountability.
38 North (Stimson Center)
Analysis of North Korea, best known for commercial satellite imagery of nuclear and missile sites. Runs the DPRK Digital Atlas.
Beyond Parallel (CSIS)
Satellite imagery and data on missile bases, prison camps and the economy, plus surveys of people inside North Korea.
NK News / NK Pro
Independent news on North Korea. NK Pro adds paid research tools (ship tracking, KCNA archives, leadership tracker).
Human Rights Watch
Annual country reports and campaigns, including on forced repatriation from China.
Balloon and leaflet groups
Escapee-led groups that floated leaflets, USB drives, dollars and rice across the border by balloon.
Mostly halted in 2025 after South Korea asked groups to stop and enforced a ban on launches.
Missing a group, or is something out of date? Tell us on GitHub.