--- title: "Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon: North Korea Prison Camp Dossier | Save North Korea" description: "Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon (Prison (kyohwaso)): Operating. Located in South Pyongan Province. Re-education prison for people convicted of crimes. Survivors describe forced labor and high death rates." url: "https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon" language: en translations: en: https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon ko: https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon ja: https://savenorthkorea.org/ja/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon zh-Hans: https://savenorthkorea.org/zh/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon --- [Prison camps](https://savenorthkorea.org/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. **\~4,000** prisoners HRNK estimate **Active** Operating **Social Security** run by Kaechon City · South Pyongan Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon · 39.7084°N, 125.9231°E [Google Maps ↗](https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7083752,125.9230614,15z/data=!3m1!1e3) · Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics [ Open on the intel map](https://savenorthkorea.org/map#camps=camp-18)[ Kaechon City county](https://savenorthkorea.org/counties/kaechon)[ How the camp system works](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/north-korea-prison-camps) ## 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](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/sentinel/kyohwaso-1-kaechon/2026-10-16.jpg) ![Sentinel-2 satellite image of Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon, 5.1 km across, captured 16 Oct 2025](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/sentinel/kyohwaso-1-kaechon/2025-10-16.jpg) 16 Oct 2025 16 Oct 2026 **Before: 16 Oct 2025** Cloud in this square: 0% Scene [S2B\_51TYE\_20251016\_1\_L2A](https://earth-search.aws.element84.com/v1/collections/sentinel-2-l2a/items/S2B%5F51TYE%5F20251016%5F1%5FL2A) [Open this day in Copernicus Browser ↗](https://browser.dataspace.copernicus.eu/?zoom=13&lat=39.70838&lng=125.92306&themeId=DEFAULT-THEME&datasetId=S2%5FL2A%5FCDAS&fromTime=2025-10-16T00%3A00%3A00.000Z&toTime=2025-10-16T23%3A59%3A59.999Z&layerId=1%5FTRUE%5FCOLOR) **After: 16 Oct 2026** Cloud in this square: 0% Scene [S2C\_51TYE\_20261016\_0\_L2A](https://earth-search.aws.element84.com/v1/collections/sentinel-2-l2a/items/S2C%5F51TYE%5F20261016%5F0%5FL2A) [Open this day in Copernicus Browser ↗](https://browser.dataspace.copernicus.eu/?zoom=13&lat=39.70838&lng=125.92306&themeId=DEFAULT-THEME&datasetId=S2%5FL2A%5FCDAS&fromTime=2026-10-16T00%3A00%3A00.000Z&toTime=2026-10-16T23%3A59%3A59.999Z&layerId=1%5FTRUE%5FCOLOR) Pick a month to compare with the latest image 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](https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/) · [Sentinel-2 L2A COGs (AWS)](https://registry.opendata.aws/sentinel-2-l2a-cogs/) ## 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 - [**HRNK prison camp map** hrnk.org ↗ ](https://www.hrnk.org/) - [**Wikipedia** en.wikipedia.org ↗ ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaechon%5Fprison%5Fcamp) - [**UN Commission of Inquiry (2014)** ohchr.org ↗ ](https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/commission-inquiry-on-h-rin-dprk) ## Other facilities in South Pyongan Province - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 14, Kaechon** Political prison camp · Operating ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-14) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 18, Pukchang** Political prison camp · Reported closed or merged ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-18) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Kyo-hwa-so No. 11, Chung-san** Prison · Operating (per HRNK) ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-11-chungsan)