The Two Koreas’ Assignment

The Two Koreas Assignment

North and South Korea have been separate politically since the end of WWII. But they are culturally similar and have been home to a distinct ethnic nationality from time immemorial. This ethno-cultural similarity should make it easier to attribute any differences between the two societies which have developed since 1945 – one (The North under communism) and the other (The South under capitalism) – to the different economic systems (Command in the case of The North and Market in the case of The South) which have prevailed during the course of the last 65 years.

Test this hypothesis by completing the following exercise.

1. Go to “The World FactBook.” CIA.
2. Once there, find the pages displaying statistical data for North and South Korea.
3. Now complete the Comparative Systems Worksheet provided in the manner illustrated below. (5)
4. Use this information in conjunction with the following resources to assess the degree to which the nature and functioning of the two Korean economies reflects the generalizations made about the performance of Command and Market Economic Systems in the “Market vs. Command Systems Compared” table(located on the previous page). The table separates the components of an economic system into five categories: the output, the productive efficiency, the business cycle, the economic growth, and the income distribution. As far as possible, organize your assessment using these criteria. (20)

Resources

• 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, North Korea.
• 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, South Korea.

COMPARATIVE SYSTEMS WORKSHEET

Using the resources provided above, please update the data in the North Korea column to reflect the most current information available.