Liberty In North Korea’s 2025 Annual Report
Helping North Korean People Win Their Freedom
We’re excited to share LiNK’s 2025 Annual Report—a celebration of the work we accomplished together alongside a global movement of support for the North Korean people.
2025 Impact Highlights
- 17 rescued
- 22 resettled
- 122 supported in resettlement
- 144 empowered through LiNK programs
- $4,214,232 raised
- 11,833,136 reached ONLINE
- 2,746+ reached IN-PERSON
- 7 information access projects
Read the full 2025 Annual Report here
Our Work Towards Liberty in North Korea
- Refugee Rescues & Resettlement Support: Helping North Koreans refugees reach safety and supporting them as they rebuild their lives in freedom.
- Empowering Resettled North Koreans: Investing in the capacity of North Koreans to succeed and work towards changing the future of their country.
- Increasing Information Access for North Koreans: Developing and distributing tailored technology and content to help North Koreans access more uncensored information more safely.
- Global Awareness & Advocacy: Amplifying North Korean refugee voices to reshape how the world sees this issue and mobilize a global movement of support.
Note From Our CEO
It's been 20 years since my first visit to the border of North Korea and China.
To this day, I vividly remember Stitch—a 6-year-old boy I met on that trip, just days after his parents were caught and repatriated to North Korea. I still remember the silly faces he made at us as we were leaving the shelter that night. Perhaps it was a way to hide a grief he couldn't yet understand, or maybe he was just being a little boy. Later on, I thought about his mother. I couldn't begin to imagine how she must have felt being forced back across the border to a fate unknown, wondering if she would ever see her son again. That night changed everything for me. And for the last two decades, it has never let me go.
This past year, as I reflected on stories like Stitch’s that have stayed with me over the years, I was reminded that the urgency on this issue has not diminished.
Life inside North Korea remains profoundly difficult. Last year, in a follow-up to a landmark UN human rights report on North Korea from 11 years ago, it was found that “since 2014, control by the Government over its citizens has tightened increasingly. Under laws introduced since 2015, citizens have been subjected to increased surveillance and control in all parts of life. No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world.”
The regime continues to maintain near-total control through pervasive surveillance, arbitrary detention, torture, forced labor, and the increased use of public executions. All of this is happening while our attention is understandably pulled toward other crises at home and abroad. But just because it isn't in our daily newsfeed doesn't mean it isn't happening in North Korea every single day.
In 2025, the North Korean human rights movement faced its greatest crisis in decades. NGOs vital to the movement and on the frontlines—rescuing refugees, sending information into the country, and documenting abuses—were forced to downsize or potentially shut down due to a sudden collapse in funding and dramatic shifts in policy. According to reports, the North Korean government was watching all of this closely. They saw the weakening of these NGOs as a strategic advantage.
And yet, in the face of these challenges, your support made it possible for us to launch an emergency campaign to raise funds for four frontline organizations fighting to survive, while continuing our own work in these areas.
Together, we brought 17 North Korean refugees to freedom, and celebrated the milestone of our 1,400th rescue. Each one required navigating a landscape that has grown more difficult every year with China’s rapid expansion of biometric security systems and AI-enabled surveillance. On the other side of that journey, 22 people were newly resettled and began rebuilding their lives, while our team continued supporting 122 individuals in their resettlement.
We invested in 144 North Korean storytellers, advocates and leaders through our programs, equipping them with scholarships, language skills, leadership and advocacy training, and a community that believes in them. Two Advocacy Fellows traveled across the country, speaking at universities and Fortune 500 companies and meeting with congressional offices on Capitol Hill. Scholarship recipients completed graduate programs and are going on to shape policy: one recently received a fully-funded PhD offer; another will begin teaching international relations in Tokyo this spring. These are not just personal victories but the emergence of leaders who are working to change the future of their country.
We also made a significant bet on something we believe could irreversibly change the course of this issue: technology designed specifically for the North Korean context. We advanced seven information access projects last year, with the support of 68 North Korean defector collaborators helping us develop and test tools that give citizens safer access to far more uncensored information than a single thumb drive could ever carry, alongside digital security tools to protect them from the regime's surveillance. These are significant advances. But they are only the beginning.
We are so grateful for the ways you have shown up and supported the North Korean people year after year. This work belongs to all of us—and none of it would be possible without you.
As a North Korean friend reminded us last year, “Freedom is not given, but it is something we can achieve.”
Thank you for your shared belief in this vision. Together, we can see it happen in our lifetime.
With unwavering hope,
Hannah Song
CEO, Liberty in North Korea
Refugee Rescues & Resettlement Support
While escape from inside North Korea remains almost impossible, there is an urgent need to help North Korean refugees hiding in China, many who have been living in uncertainty for years. Liberty in North Korea ensures a safe and dignified pathway, without cost or condition, for North Korean refugees who make the brave decision to seek freedom.
In 2025, we’re grateful to have welcomed 17 North Korean refugees and their children to freedom, and celebrated the milestone of our 1,400th rescue.
On the other side of the rescue journey, LiNK helps North Koreans rebuild their lives with a strong foundation. Based on need, our team connects them to resources and services, conducts home visits, and provides financial assistance.
- 17 rescued
- 22 newly resettled
- 122 supported
“Up until the very last moment before leaving home [in China], I was terrified and hesitant. I was afraid of being arrested and worried about my family back in China. Now that I'm in South Korea, I realize I would have regretted it if I hadn't left. Living in freedom with ID feels like a dream. I'm excited to get vocational training, find a job, and adapt to South Korea well!”
– Won-mi, rescued in February 2025
Empowering Resettled North Koreans
North Korean refugees have unlimited potential, but they do not face an even playing field after arriving in South Korea or the US. We identify current challenges faced by resettled North Koreans and invest in their success through education, skill-building, and leadership opportunities.
With the right support, North Koreans consistently prove their potential and become key players in driving change. They’re reaching their academic and career goals, sending money and information back into North Korea, and building global understanding and support for this issue. This next generation of North Korean leaders, entrepreneurs, storytellers, and advocates will be the ones to determine the future of their country; LiNK’s programs grow their capacity and partner with them as agents of change.
- 144 empowered through our programs
“LiNK’s program has helped me organize my thoughts and see my story as valuable. Seeing how others gain comfort or courage through my story, I feel that my difficult experiences have become meaningful points of connection. The storytelling and presentation training I received has allowed me to speak with responsibility rather than fear.”
– Ree Ha Kim, LESP participant
Increasing Information Access for North Koreans
North Koreans live in one of the most closed and limited information environments in the world. To protect the effectiveness of their propaganda, the regime tries to maintain a complete monopoly on information and ideas inside the country. Their narratives emphasize the outside world as being dangerous and the threat of war as imminent, justifying the dictatorship and its draconian restrictions.
Increasing the North Korean people’s access to uncensored outside information is therefore one of the most effective levers for change in the country.
Liberty in North Korea works with North Korean defectors and engineers to develop tailor-made technology and content to help people inside the country access more information more safely. Empowered with the truth, North Koreans gain resilience against the regime’s propaganda and are emboldened to scrutinize the government, imagine a different future, and build pressure for change and opening.
- 7 technology projects
- 68 North Korean defector collaborators
- 80,000+ lines of code written
“This will have a major impact on the people of North Korea… Right now, because of the new law punishing so-called ‘non-socialist behavior,’ morale is very low. But if this program spreads inside North Korea, it will help people regain confidence.”
– Anonymous North Korean user tester
*In order to protect end users, partners, and our projects, we are limited in what we can share publicly.
Global Advocacy and Awareness
For decades, North Korea has been reduced to a caricature—part threat, part joke. Dictators and geopolitics dominate headlines, making the country seem hopeless and unchanging. The global community’s inattention and inaction has only helped the regime to maintain the worst dictatorship on earth.
Liberty in North Korea partners with North Koreans to build an alternative narrative focused on their perspectives, resilience, and potential. Our objective is to reshape how the world sees and responds to North Korea, increasing pressure on governments to act and mobilizing the support that the North Korean people deserve.
Participants from LiNK’s programs have gone on to contribute to South Korea’s policy towards North Korea and engage at the highest levels of international politics, including at the United Nations Security Council and in the Oval Office.
- 11,833,136 reached online
- 2,764+ reached in-person
“As an Advocacy Fellow, I discovered new parts of myself, built confidence, and learned lessons that changed the way I see the world and my own story… With these lessons as my guide, I plan to stay dedicated to the cause of North Korean human rights and remain closely connected with the people I’ve met, building a lasting bridge of solidarity together.”
– Hannah Oh, 2025 LiNK Advocacy Fellow
Read the full 2024 Annual Report here
We Call BTS “Bangdan” | Cultural Shifts in North Korea
By: Hannah Oh
Hannah is a North Korea-born intern at Liberty in North Korea’s Seoul office. This article has been reconstructed from her perspective based on DailyNK reports from March 2026.
⏱️ 30-second summary
- K-Pop Power: Young people in North Korea refer to BTS as “BT” to avoid attracting the attention of authorities. They empathize with song lyrics that touch their hearts, in sharp contrast to the ideology prescribed by the state. Even amidst strict crackdowns on South Korean media, people are consuming and sharing K-Pop with their peers.
- Resetting Relationships: It’s now common to see couples in North Korea spending time together in cafes, signaling a change in people’s daily lives. A new culture is emerging where people build relationships by sitting face-to-face over coffee and conversation.
- Expanding Self-Expression: New beauty standards that favor slim bodies and skincare have become popularized. As outside information spreads in North Korea, it’s gradually changing people’s tastes and self-expression.
BTS is a name recognized by people all over the world. This global K-Pop group’s music is even reaching audiences in the most closed country to exist today: North Korea.
The North Korean government severely cracks down on the consumption and spread of foreign media, like South Korean music and dramas. Through foreign media, North Koreans are able to learn things about the outside world that contradict and challenge the regime’s propaganda. In response, the regime passed the “anti-reactionary thought law” in December 2020, which made watching foreign media punishable by 15 years in a political prison camp.
To avoid being caught discussing and sharing about BTS, North Koreans are reportedly shortening the name to “BT.” Even though they cannot directly mention their favorite idol group, they are expressing their fandom by using slang that they understand among themselves.
Changes to daily life in North Korea extend beyond music tastes. From couples quietly conversing in cafes to women experimenting with K-Beauty, this article follows the stories of North Koreans who, despite control and restrictions, are shaping culture and cultivating new standards of leisure, beauty, and expression.
Why North Korean Youth Gravitate Towards K-Pop
It is reported that among young people in North Korea, it is common to refer to BTS, or “Bangtan,” as BT, or “Bangdan,” to avoid the scrutiny of North Korean authorities cracking down on illegal foreign media. Fans in North Korea have cited songs such as “I’m Fine,” “Go,” “Danger,” and “Spring Day” as their favorites, and expressed a desire to dress like the BTS members.
These developments might suggest that instead of foreign media being a taboo topic of discussion, it has become a language of taste shared among peers.
In response to the popularity of South Korean music, North Korean authorities imposed a city-wide lecture series that warned “The only love young people should pursue is revolutionary and comradely love.” However, after the lectures ended, it is reported that the sentiment among young people was that “South Korean song lyrics seem to understand my heart,” and “the emotions they actually feel” over “the emotions permitted by the state.”
Cuppaccinos Over Flowers: Dating Culture in North Korea
In North Korea, there is still a strong perception that cafes are places frequented only by the well-off. However, this year on March 8th for International Women’s Day, reports emerged of husbands visiting coffee shops with their wives, holding hands, and spending time drinking lattes or cappuccinos. Rather than traditional gestures like flowers or doing extra housework, there seems to be a cultural shift of celebrating by spending time together.
After visiting a cafe for the first time, residents reportedly commented that “It’s surprisingly nice because you can talk quietly.” Their perception of this space—previously considered unsuitable for leisure amidst busy lives—changed after actually experiencing it for themselves. The growing popularity of cafes as a space where two people can sit face-to-face and share a private conversation may seem like a minor development, but it is not insignificant.
People’s perceptions and behaviors don’t only change when systems or policies are altered; shifts in how individuals interact and go about their daily lives is also a catalyst for change.
The Far-Reaching Influence of K-Beauty
There have also been reports that interest in beauty treatments and taking care of one’s appearance is growing in North Korea, particularly among affluent women. Younger women have taken to dieting, while middle-aged women are spending money on cosmetic procedures like Botox to reduce wrinkles. North Korean beauty standards have historically favored a fuller figure to look healthy, but now there is an emerging preference to look slimmer. According to one source, this is due to the influence of South Korean culture.
Even in South Korea, there is an ongoing debate as to whether striving for a slim body and youthful appearance is a healthy pursuit. Nevertheless, this shift in North Korean beauty habits is notable.
Individuals are seeking change and acting on their own initiative, influenced by external information, rather than following the standards set out by the regime.
However, it must be noted that these developments seem to be more prominent among wealthy women with financial means, as opposed to the entire population.
Pop Culture as a Catalyst for Change in North Korea
The global influence of K-Pop groups like BTS is usually measured by streaming numbers or chart rankings. But the most significant marker of impact might be found in North Korea, where people risk their lives to listen to their songs. Even in the most closed country in the world, there are people who enjoy heartfelt music, shared conversation over a cup of coffee, and self-care.
If you zoom in past the image of North Korea as a bleak, oppressed country, there are millions of people going about their everyday lives. Small cultural shifts and changing attitudes may seem insignificant. But over time, these compounding changes could bring about transformation in North Korea.
Increasing Information Access for North Korean People
As evidenced by these developments, North Koreans are watching foreign media and have a growing awareness of the outside world. At Liberty in North Korea, we believe that access to uncensored outside information is key to increasing forces of change and opening inside the country. Empowered with information access, North Koreans can imagine a different life for themselves and push the boundaries of the regime’s control.
We work with North Korean partners and engineers to develop and distribute tailored technology and content to help more people inside the country safely access uncensored information.
You can help bring truth to where it’s urgently needed.
