Take action

Learn · By Cladius Dedeler · 6 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026

How to help North Korean people

한국어日本語中文

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

You can't fix North Korea from your laptop. But you can get one specific person out, put one specific USB drive into the country, or keep one small documentation group alive for another year. And most of the groups doing this are tiny, and 2025 was their worst funding year in a long time, so a bit of money or time probably goes further here than in most causes.

Fund a rescue (about $3,000)

Most people who escape cross into China first. There they have no legal status, and if they're caught they get sent back to face prison or worse. Getting from northern China to safety in Southeast Asia is a roughly 3,000-mile trip through brokers and safe houses.

~$3,000to fund one rescueLiberty in North Korea
1,400+people rescued by LiNK so farLiNK, 2026

Liberty in North KoreaLiberty in North Korea (LiNK)Long Beach, CA and Seoul · since 2004 · ActiveFunds rescues of North Korean refugees from China to safety in Southeast Asia, then supports them as they resettle. Also runs storytelling and campaigns. funds these trips. It's getting harder though: LiNK's 2025 report says China's biometric checkpoints and AI surveillance make every route slower and more expensive.

Send information in

Outside information is how North Koreans find out their government is lying to them. Flash Drives for FreedomFlash Drives for Freedom (Human Rights Foundation)New York · since 2016 · ActiveCollects used USB drives, loads them with films, Korean Wikipedia and news, and gets them into North Korea through partner groups. (run by the Human Rights Foundation) takes donated USB drives, wipes them, loads them with films, Korean Wikipedia, news etc., and partner groups get them into the country. It's still running in 2026, with over 140,000 drives donated or pledged. Mailing a few old drives takes like ten minutes.

Radio matters too, and it got hit hardest. Radio Free Asia's Korean service closed in July 2025 after US funding was cut, and South Korea ended its own broadcasts. Groups like Unification Media GroupUnification Media Group (UMG)Seoul · since 2014 · Active, funding hitProduces radio broadcasts and media aimed at listeners inside North Korea, much of it made by escapees. still broadcast and really need support.

Help escapees who already made it

34,538 North Koreans had reached South Korea by the end of 2025 (224 arrived that year, mostly women). Starting over is hard: a new version of your own language, English, job hunting, trauma, and family left behind.

You can tutor English online through Freedom Speakers InternationalFreedom Speakers International (formerly TNKR)Seoul and Arlington, VA · since 2013 · ActiveMatches North Korean escapees with volunteer English tutors and public speaking coaches. Refugees pick their own tutors. 600+ refugees and 1,200+ volunteers so far. (formerly TNKR) or volunteer with PSCOREPSCORESeoul · since 2006 · ActiveFounded by escapees. Runs education programs and one-on-one tutoring for North Koreans in South Korea, plus advocacy. in Seoul. If you speak English and can do an hour a week, this is one of the most direct things you can do (and you actually get to know the person you're helping).

Keep the evidence

One day there'll probably be trials, truth commissions and families looking for graves. Groups like NKDBNKDB (Database Center for North Korean Human Rights)Seoul · since 2003 · Active, funding hitInterviews escapees and keeps the largest database of North Korean human rights violations, plus a prison database., TJWGTransitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)Seoul · since 2014 · Active, funding hitMaps execution and burial sites and builds the evidence base for future accountability and transitional justice. and Korea FutureKorea FutureLondon and Seoul · ActiveDocuments abuses in the North Korean penal system case by case, identifying victims and perpetrators. interview escapees and map prisons and execution sites now, so that record exists when it's needed. Several of them lost US grants in 2025.

Use your voice

  • Ask your representatives to fund broadcasting into North Korea and to restore support for human rights groups.
  • Push for pressure on China to stop sending escapees back (it sent back an estimated 500-600 people in October 2023 alone).
  • Share escapee stories and books (our library has a list). Most people's picture of North Korea is memes, so one good book recommendation does more than you'd expect.

If you have a specific skill

  • Developers and data people: this site is open source. Add data, fix facts, build tools on GitHub.
  • Korean speakers: translation is a constant bottleneck for documentation groups and media projects.
  • Writers and creators: good English content on North Korea is weirdly rare. Search "how to free North Korea" and see how little comes up.

Be careful with

Aid that goes through the regime with no monitoring, and groups that won't say what they actually do or what it costs. Ask for numbers. The good ones publish them.

tldr:
  • Cheapest: mail an old USB drive to Flash Drives for Freedom. Most direct: ~$3,000 funds a full rescue through LiNK.
  • If you speak English, an hour a week tutoring an escapee is real, personal help.
  • These groups are small and lost a lot of funding in 2025, so small amounts matter.

Quick answers

How much does it cost to rescue a North Korean refugee?
Liberty in North Korea says a rescue from China to safety costs about $3,000. The organization has helped more than 1,400 people escape.
Can I send USB drives to North Korea?
Not directly, but you can mail used USB drives to Flash Drives for Freedom, a Human Rights Foundation project. They wipe the drives, load them with outside content and partner groups get them into North Korea.
How many North Korean defectors live in South Korea?
About 34,500. South Korea’s Unification Ministry counted 34,538 arrivals in total by the end of 2025, including 224 who arrived in 2025.
Want to do something about it?

Fund a rescue, send information in, or support the people documenting abuses. Takes about ten minutes to start.

See what you can do

Sources

Keep reading