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

Candidates will make an appraisal of the economic and political impact of the Korean War on the peninsula, weighing up its importance or otherwise. Impacts may extend beyond the timeframe but they 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 evaluation of one of them. However, both aspects will be a feature of the response. Candidates may refer to immediate negative impacts of the war on both North and South Korea and evaluate the long-term economic policies both governments put in place to deal with the devastation of war. Other relevant impacts may be evaluated, for example, how the war allowed Kim Il Sung to purge his political rivals and consolidate his power and heightened political indoctrination as form of control and mobilization in the North. For South Korea, the war led to the emergence of the military as a dominant political force and the use of anti-Communist sentiments as justification for political repression. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

This was a relatively popular question. For the most part this question was answered effectively. Candidates demonstrated a good understanding of the impact of the war and provided in-depth supporting knowledge. However, some candidates did not seem to know much beyond the armistice in 1953. Candidates should understand the impact in the ten years following the end of the conflict.