The Fourth
Industrial Revolution is rapidly advancing with the dramatic development of
information and communications technology in the twenty-first century. With the
development and proliferation of mobile technology, the boundaries between
online and offline are becoming blurred. Also, sharing economy, in which
economic players share assets and services, is rapidly growing. Rather than
owning tangible and/or intangible goods, social and economic models are being
formed to share, lend, and exchange goods online. The sharing economy has the
advantage of utilizing idle resources, eliminating resource shortages, and
resolving supply-demand imbalances. The existing economic management method had
emphasized efficient resource allocation; the sharing economy has the
characteristics of lowering the cost of use through peer-to-peer services and
online to offline services, etc. Typical examples of the sharing economy
include shared housing and shared transportation. The cost of the platform has
fallen through cooperative consumption as well.
The sharing economy
is being used more actively in socialist countries. In China and Russia, the
efficiency of resource allocation and the concept of sharing in the socialist
culture are highlighted. China and Russia have developed industries that share
scarce consumer and production goods through information and communications technology.
As a result, the proportion of service industries in China and Russia in 2020
recorded 54.5 percent and 56.3 percent, respectively, surpassing the proportion
of manufacturing industries. Typical sharing projects in China and Russia
currently include those that share vehicles and houses. These projects have the
characteristics of social participation and the characteristics of public goods
and are suitable for adapting to the socialist system.
Cuba, which has maintained a system similar to that of North Korea, is also operating a sharing economy. Once heavily sanctioned by the U.S., Cuba has earned a considerable amount of foreign currency by attracting foreign tourists. In 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, about 4.1 million overseas tourists visited Cuba. As a result, Cuba's gross domestic product per capita exceeded that of most countries in South America. In 2011, the Cuban government allowed the sale of residential properties, and residents could make considerable wealth. Although illegal, Cubans living abroad had bought real estate in the name of their relatives and had earned a lot of money by receiving overseas tourists. The Cuban government allowed Cubans to use the Internet to increase their income for the convenience of tourists. The number of self-employed people in Cuba increased dramatically. Residents in Cuba work under state-owned enterprises yet have other occupations concomitantly.
North Korea is competing relatively well in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Unlike the socialist countries mentioned earlier, North Korea restricts freedom of movement and communication. However, once feared as penetrating the symbol of capitalism, the mobile phones have become an absolute necessity in North Korea. The market that the North Korean government was afraid of now creates wealth and is responsible for the lives of North Korean people; the direction of North Korean policy is clear. If North Korea’s sharing economy is developed using North Korea's skilled ICT personnel and technology, then the North Korean economy can expect a leap forward in the service industry. Meanwhile, North Korea is implementing a sharing economy project like the Ryomyong (Dawn) bike rental service that shares bikes with a prepaid card system. The spread of the sharing economy will significantly help the economy of North Korea, which currently lacks economic resources for economic development.
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