---
title: "Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Yongdam: North Korea Prison Camp Dossier | Save North Korea"
description: "Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Yongdam (Prison (kyohwaso)): Operating (per HRNK). Located in Kangwon Province. 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."
url: "https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-8-yongdam"
language: en
translations:
  en: https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-8-yongdam
  ko: https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/camps/kyohwaso-8-yongdam
  ja: https://savenorthkorea.org/ja/camps/kyohwaso-8-yongdam
  zh-Hans: https://savenorthkorea.org/zh/camps/kyohwaso-8-yongdam
---

[Prison camps](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps) · Kangwon Province

Prison · kyohwaso 

# Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Yongdam

8호 용담 교화소

Kyohwaso No. 8 is a long-term correctional prison located near Yongdam in Kangwon Province. Inmates are convicted of economic crimes, unauthorized travel, or cross-border communication, and are subjected to forced labor in agriculture and quarrying under severe nutrition deficits.

**\~2,000** prisoners HRNK estimate 

**Active** Operating (per HRNK) 

**Social Security** run by 

Chonnae · Kangwon

Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, Yongdam · 39.3614°N, 127.2649°E [Google Maps ↗](https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3613796,127.2649381,15z/data=!3m1!1e3) · Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics 

[ Open on the intel map](https://savenorthkorea.org/map#camps=camp-6)[ Chonnae county](https://savenorthkorea.org/counties/chonnae)[ How the camp system works](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/north-korea-prison-camps)

## How well documented

1. Satellite imagery
2. Listed by NKDB / KINU
3. Survivor testimony

## 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/)
- [**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 Kangwon Province

- [ © Esri, Maxar **Kyo-hwa-so No. 88, Wonsan** Prison · Operating (per HRNK) ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-88-wonsan)