Prison camps · South Pyongan Province

Prison · kyohwaso

Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon

1호 개천 교화소

Kyohwaso No. 1 in Kaechon holds roughly 4,000 prisoners and was documented in detail by survivor Soon Ok Lee (author of Eyes of the Tailless Animals). Prisoners work in textile and leather shoe manufacturing under rigorous production quotas.

~4,000prisonersHRNK estimate
ActiveOperating
Social Securityrun by
JagangKangwonNampoNorth HamgyongNorth HwanghaeNorth PyonganPyongyangRyanggangSouth HamgyongSouth HwanghaeSouth PyonganKaechon CityCamp 14, KaechonCamp 25, ChongjinCamp 15, YodokCamp 16, HwasongCamp 22, HoeryongCamp 18, PukchangKyo-hwa-so No. 8, YongdamKyo-hwa-so No. 11, Chung-sanKyo-hwa-so No. 7, KanggyeKyo-hwa-so No. 2, DongrimKyo-hwa-so No. 88, WonsanKyo-hwa-so No. 9, HamhungSunchon Kyo-hwa-soKyo-hwa-so No. 8, Sungho-riFacility at I-golFacility at UdanCh’oma-bong Restricted AreaKyo-hwa-so No. 3, SinuijuKyo-hwa-so No. 4, KangdongKyohwaso No. 12, ChongoriKyo-hwa-so No. 6, SariwonKyo-hwa-so No. 22, OroKyo-hwa-so No. 77, Danchon
Kaechon City · South Pyongan
Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon · 39.7084°N, 125.9231°EGoogle Maps ↗ · Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Open on the intel map Kaechon City county How the camp system works

Satellite watch

Captured 16 Oct 2026

Our own images of this 5.1 km square from the European Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites: the newest clear picture, and the clearest one from each of the last 24 months. One pixel is 10 m, enough to see roads, fields, ponds and large buildings, not people.

Sentinel-2 satellite image of Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon, 5.1 km across, captured 16 Oct 2026
Sentinel-2 satellite image of Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon, 5.1 km across, captured 16 Oct 2025
16 Oct 202516 Oct 2026
Before: 16 Oct 2025Cloud in this square: 0%Scene S2B_51TYE_20251016_1_L2AOpen this day in Copernicus Browser ↗After: 16 Oct 2026Cloud in this square: 0%Scene S2C_51TYE_20261016_0_L2AOpen this day in Copernicus Browser ↗

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We pick each image by measuring cloud inside this square from the satellite’s own scene classification. Months with no clear image are left out. We do not mark or interpret anything in the pictures. The ring marks the point on our map.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024-2026 · Copernicus Data Space · Sentinel-2 L2A COGs (AWS)

Why people end up here

Kyohwaso hold people sentenced through the regular courts. Sentences are set in years, but hunger, beatings and heavy labor kill many before release. Common charges:

  • Illegal trading
  • Smuggling across the border
  • Watching foreign media
  • Trying to escape to China

Sources

Other facilities in South Pyongan Province