Prison 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.
~2,000prisonersHRNK estimate
ActiveOperating (per HRNK)
Social Securityrun by
Open on the intel map Chonnae county How the camp system works
How well documented
- Satellite imagery
- Listed by NKDB / KINU
- 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
