The Division I tournament began on 8 March 2001 in Seoul, South Korea. New Zealand had gained promotion to Division I after finishing first in the Division II tournament at the 2000 IIHF Asian Oceanic Junior U18 Championship. South Korea won the tournament after winning all three of their games and claimed their second title, their first coming in 1998. Following their win South Korea gained promotion for the following year to Division III of the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships. China finished second after losing their game to South Korea and Australia finished third on losing on goal difference to China after both teams finished on the same number of points. New Zealand who finished last were set to be relegated to Division II for the 2002 IIHF Asian Oceanic U18 Championship however due to a format change both divisions were merged into one tournament for the 2002 competition. Park Chul Ho of South Korea finished as the top scorer for the tournament with ten points including six goals and four assists.