Abstract The KSTAR, a tokamak with fully superconducting (SC) magnets, is under construction in the National Fusion Research Center (NFRC). For the proper operation of the KSTAR, the superconducting magnets have to be maintained below the critical temperature of the SC components while charged at their corresponding operation current values. In this paper, a large scale helium refrigeration system (HRS) which has been designed and developed to fulfill such a mission is presented. The cold components of the KSTAR are kept at their operating temperatures thanks to various kinds of cryogenic helium which are produced in the cold box (C/B) of the HRS in combination with the supercritical helium (SHe) cryogenic circulators and a liquid helium (LHe) thermal damper (TD) located in the primary helium distribution box (D/B #1). The relative distribution of the cryogenic helium among the cooling channels of each cold component of the KSTAR is performed by the secondary helium distribution system which consists of the secondary distribution box (D/B #2) and the cryogenic transfer lines (CTL’s).