Discuss the economic and political impact of the Korean War on the Korean peninsula.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the economic and political impact of the Korean War. The impact may extend beyond the Korean War but must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may offer equal coverage of economic and political impact or they may prioritize their discussion of one. However, both aspects will be a feature of the response. Candidates may refer to the fact that North Korea remained a communist nation while South Korea became a free republic. Neither side achieved a military victory. Political interference from the US in South Korea and the USSR in North Korea continued after the war. South Korea saw the destruction of industrial facilities, hyperinflation and the discontinuance of two national economic reform policies: the farmland reform and privatization policies on confiscated enemy properties. In North Korea, destruction was more severe with the total damage estimated at 420 billion won. Factories, state enterprises, housing units and schools disappeared. Agricultural lands were in a state of devastation. While other relevant factors, for example the psychological issue of families and homes being divided may be referred to, the bulk of the response will remain on the issue raised in the question.