--- title: "North Korea Prison Camps: Where They Are and What Happens | Save North Korea" description: "North Korea's political prison camps (kwanliso) held an estimated 80,000-120,000 people (UN, 2014). The known camps on a map, how people end up there, and who documents them." url: "https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/north-korea-prison-camps" language: en translations: en: https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/north-korea-prison-camps ko: https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/learn/north-korea-prison-camps ja: https://savenorthkorea.org/ja/learn/north-korea-prison-camps zh-Hans: https://savenorthkorea.org/zh/learn/north-korea-prison-camps --- © Esri, Maxar [Learn](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn) · [By Cladius Dedeler](https://savenorthkorea.org/about) · 7 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026 # North Korea's prison camps [한국어](https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/learn/north-korea-prison-camps)[日本語](https://savenorthkorea.org/ja/learn/north-korea-prison-camps)[中文](https://savenorthkorea.org/zh/learn/north-korea-prison-camps) [Satellite view of Camp 15, Yodok · Imagery © Esri, Maxar](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-15) North Korea runs political prison camps called kwanliso. In 2014 a UN Commission of Inquiry estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people were held in them, and concluded that what happens inside amounts to crimes against humanity (extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, forced abortion). North Korea says the camps don't exist. You can see them on satellite images. **80-120k** people in political prison camps UN estimate, 2014 **24** facilities tracked on this site see /camps ## Two kinds of camp ### Kwanliso: political prison camps For people the state calls enemies, and often their whole families. Many are "total control zones" where nobody is ever released. Prisoners mine coal, cut trees, farm and work in factories on starvation rations. ### Kyohwaso: "re-education" prisons For people convicted of crimes, like watching South Korean TV, trading without permission or trying to leave. Sentences have an end date, but survivors describe forced labor and death rates that sound a lot like the political camps. On top of those there are short-term detention and interrogation centers. That's usually where people sent back from China go first. ## How do people end up there? Insulting the leader, practising religion, contact with South Koreans, or just being related to someone who did any of that. Under guilt by association (yeonjwaje), the regime has sent the parents, kids and siblings of an "offender" to the camps too. Shin Dong-hyuk, the subject of _Escape from Camp 14_ , says he was born inside one. ## The known camps All of these are on the [intel map](https://savenorthkorea.org/map) with their approximate locations. Status comes from satellite analysis and escapee testimony, so it lags reality by months or years (keep that in mind). - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 14, Kaechon** 14호 개천 관리소 · South Pyongan Province Operating \~15,000 Total control zone where prisoners are never released. Shin Dong-hyuk (Escape from Camp 14) says he was born here. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-14) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 15, Yodok** 15호 요덕 관리소 · South Hamgyong Province Reported closed or downsized, disputed Had a "revolutionizing zone" from which some prisoners were released, which is why most early camp testimony comes from here. Kang Chol-hwan (The Aquariums of Pyongyang) was held here as a child. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-15) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 16, Hwasong** 16호 화성 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province Operating \~20,000 The largest known political prison camp, a few km from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Tens of thousands of prisoners estimated. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-16) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 18, Pukchang** 18호 북창 관리소 · South Pyongan Province Reported closed or merged \~27,000 Mining camp across the river from Camp 14\. Reports suggest it was closed or merged in the 2000s, though parts may still be used. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-18) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 22, Hoeryong** 22호 회령 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province Closed \~2012 Once one of the largest camps. Closed around 2012\. What happened to its prisoners is unknown. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-22) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Camp 25, Chongjin** 25호 청진 관리소 · North Hamgyong Province Operating, expanded in the 2010s \~5,000 Political prison camp on the edge of Chongjin. Satellite imagery showed new guard posts and buildings in the 2010s. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kwanliso-25) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Kyohwaso No. 1, Kaechon** 1호 개천 교화소 · South Pyongan Province Operating \~4,000 Re-education prison for people convicted of crimes. Survivors describe forced labor and high death rates. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-1-kaechon) - [ © Esri, Maxar **Kyohwaso No. 12, Chongori** 12호 전거리 교화소 · North Hamgyong Province Operating \~2,300 Holds many people forcibly sent back from China after escaping. Testimony describes starvation and abuse, especially of women. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps/kyohwaso-12-chongori) All 24 tracked facilities are on the [prison camps page](https://savenorthkorea.org/camps). Is it getting better? Hard to say. Some researchers, like the [Transitional Justice Working Group](https://savenorthkorea.org/organizations#tjwg) , see signs that the political camp population shrank under Kim Jong Un while ordinary prisons grew. But the UN's 2025 report found that repression overall got worse in the decade after 2014, not better. ## Who documents them - [**Committee for Human Rights in North Korea** ](https://savenorthkorea.org/organizations#hrnk) publishes satellite imagery analysis of individual camps (its _Hidden Gulag_ report is the standard reference). - [**NKDB** ](https://savenorthkorea.org/organizations#nkdb) keeps a database of violations and a prison database built from tens of thousands of testimonies. - [**Korea Future** ](https://savenorthkorea.org/organizations#korea-future) documents the penal system case by case, naming perpetrators. - **T** [**Transitional Justice Working Group** ](https://savenorthkorea.org/organizations#tjwg) maps execution and burial sites for future accountability. ## What to read _The Aquariums of Pyongyang_ (Kang Chol-hwan, sent to Yodok at 9) and _Escape from Camp 14_ (Blaine Harden) are the best known first-hand accounts. Shin Dong-hyuk later changed parts of his story, though the core of what he described matches other testimony. More in the [library](https://savenorthkorea.org/library). - [![Cover of The Aquariums of Pyongyang](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/library/the-aquariums-of-pyongyang.jpg)Sent to the Yodok prison camp at age 9 with his whole family. The book that put the camps on the map for many readers. **The Aquariums of Pyongyang** Kang Chol-hwan & Pierre Rigoulot · 2000 ](https://openlibrary.org/search?q=The+Aquariums+of+Pyongyang) - [![Cover of Escape from Camp 14](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/library/escape-from-camp-14.jpg)Shin Dong-hyuk’s account of being born inside a political prison camp._Shin later revised parts of his story (2015). The core account matches other testimony._ Disputed details **Escape from Camp 14** Blaine Harden · 2012 ](https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Escape+from+Camp+14) - [![Cover of Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/library/eyes-of-the-tailless-animals-prison-memoirs-of-a-north-korean-woman.jpg)Former state distribution supervisor imprisoned in Kyohwaso No. 1 (Kaechon) for six years. One of the earliest testimonies on ordinary penal camps._Some specific torture claims differ from descriptions by later defectors, but general camp conditions match._ Disputed details **Eyes of the Tailless Animals** Soon Ok Lee · 1999 ](https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Eyes+of+the+Tailless+Animals+Soon+Ok+Lee) - [![Cover of Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean Camp Survivor](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/library/long-road-home-testimony-of-a-north-korean-camp-survivor.jpg)Former lieutenant colonel in the Ministry of Public Security sent to Camp 14 and Camp 18 after his father’s past was discovered; the only known survivor to escape both. **Long Road Home** Kim Yong & Kim Suk-young · 2009 ](https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Long+Road+Home+Kim+Yong) **tldr:** - The UN estimated 80,000-120,000 people in political prison camps in 2014 and called what happens there crimes against humanity. - Whole families get sent, sometimes three generations, for one person’s “crime”. - The camps are visible on satellite images, and groups like HRNK, NKDB and TJWG keep the record for later. ## Quick answers How many people are in North Korean prison camps? The UN Commission of Inquiry estimated in 2014 that 80,000 to 120,000 people were held in political prison camps (kwanliso). Many more pass through ordinary prisons and detention centers. There is no recent precise count. Are North Korean prison camps still operating? Yes. Satellite imagery shows several political prison camps still active, including Camp 14 (Kaechon), Camp 16 (Hwasong) and Camp 25 (Chongjin). Some older camps, like Camp 22 (Hoeryong), were closed. Why are families sent to North Korean prison camps? Under guilt by association, relatives of a person accused of a political crime can also be imprisoned, sometimes across three generations. This makes resistance extremely costly. **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](https://savenorthkorea.org/act) ## Sources - [**UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK (2014)** ohchr.org ↗ ](https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/commission-inquiry-on-h-rin-dprk) - [**HRNK: The Hidden Gulag and camp imagery reports** hrnk.org ↗ ](https://www.hrnk.org/publications/hrnk-publications.php) - [**Human Rights Watch: "lost decade" (2025)** hrw.org ↗ ](https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/16/north-korea-lost-decade-of-rights-abuses) - [**UPI: TJWG on changes in camps under Kim Jong Un (2026)** upi.com ↗ ](https://www.upi.com/Top%5FNews/World-News/2026/07/09/north-korean-human-rights-group/9241783643366/) ## Keep reading - [ **Three students flew drones into North Korea. South Korea prosecuted them.** Four drone flights into North Korea, prison camps and Starlink dreams, intelligence money, and a treason-style charge a court threw out. 9 min read ](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/north-korea-drone-activists) - [ **How can North Korea be freed?** Five ways the regime could end or open up, roughly how likely each one is, and which ones normal people can actually push on. 8 min read ](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/how-can-north-korea-be-freed) - [ **Is it possible to free North Korea?** Why the regime has lasted since 1948, the cracks that are already there, and what history says about "permanent" dictatorships. 6 min read ](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/is-it-possible-to-free-north-korea)