Funds rescues of North Korean refugees from China to safety in Southeast Asia, then supports them as they resettle. Also runs storytelling and campaigns.
1,400+ rescues so far, 17 in 2025. About $3,000 per rescue.
Directory
Who is helping North Koreans
22 groups doing rescue, information, documentation, resettlement and research, with what they do and how to help. Several lost US funding in 2025, so we mark that too. Status was last checked 2026-10-01. This isn't an endorsement or an audit, so do your own reading before giving big amounts.
Collects used USB drives, loads them with films, Korean Wikipedia and news, and gets them into North Korea through partner groups.
Still running in 2026: 140,000+ drives donated or pledged.
Produces radio broadcasts and media aimed at listeners inside North Korea, much of it made by escapees.
One of the few broadcasters left after Radio Free Asia’s Korean service closed in July 2025. Affected by 2025 US grant cuts.
News from a network of sources inside North Korea: market prices, crackdowns, executions, daily life.
Named by HRW among groups at risk after 2025 US funding cuts.
Interviews escapees and keeps the largest database of North Korean human rights violations, plus a prison database.
Affected by 2025 US grant cuts.
Maps execution and burial sites and builds the evidence base for future accountability and transitional justice.
Documents abuses in the North Korean penal system case by case, identifying victims and perpetrators.
Research and advocacy. Its satellite imagery reports on individual prison camps (and The Hidden Gulag) are the standard reference.
One of the oldest North Korean human rights groups. Advocacy, education and support for escapees.
Marked 30 years in 2026.
Founded by escapees. Runs education programs and one-on-one tutoring for North Koreans in South Korea, plus advocacy.
Matches North Korean escapees with volunteer English tutors and public speaking coaches. Refugees pick their own tutors. 600+ refugees and 1,200+ volunteers so far.
Cares for North Korean refugees hiding in China, especially women and children, including children born to North Korean mothers there.
Christian group that has helped North Koreans escape through China and runs a school for young escapees in Seoul.
Escapee-led group founded by Ji Seong-ho. Rescue support, information work and advocacy.
Founded by former prison camp guard Ahn Myeong-chul. Collects testimony from camp survivors and files cases with the UN.
Coalition of groups behind North Korea Freedom Week. Lobbies the US government on refugees and human rights.
The UN field office set up after the 2014 Commission of Inquiry. Interviews escapees and keeps a central record for accountability.
Analysis of North Korea, best known for commercial satellite imagery of nuclear and missile sites. Runs the DPRK Digital Atlas.
Satellite imagery and data on missile bases, prison camps and the economy, plus surveys of people inside North Korea.
Independent news on North Korea. NK Pro adds paid research tools (ship tracking, KCNA archives, leadership tracker).
Annual country reports and campaigns, including on forced repatriation from China.
Escapee-led groups that floated leaflets, USB drives, dollars and rice across the border by balloon.
Mostly halted in 2025 after South Korea asked groups to stop and enforced a ban on launches.
Missing a group, or is something out of date? Tell us on GitHub.