Oil as a Strategic Resource: Impact of the 1973 Oil Crisis on the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

The 1973 oil crisis caused more significant economic fluctuations in the economic performance of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) compared to that of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Many scholars believe that it was a result of different levels of economic integration into the international trade system. South Korea developed an export-oriented economy that imported rare material and exported finished goods to the rest of the world. While North Korea’s major trading partners are the communist countries, which were far less integrated into world trade. Nevertheless, it was much more affected by the differences in physical geography and the industrial layout of these two economies in the fact that North Korea had more abundant coal reserves and hydropower potential and focused more on heavy industries.