Evolution Korea

The economic crisis that hit Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old model of government-business alliances and public management of private risks. In Korea, this meant a shift in the development paradigm.

In a controversial move, South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers not to comply with calls to eliminate examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the bird an ancestor Archaeopteryx.

1. Evolution and Religion

A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The move was a result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, causing them to abandon their faith.

When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists across the world expressed alarm. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature, evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues across the country, who set up a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.

Researchers are worried that the STR campaign will spread to other parts of the globe, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution movement putting more pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.

South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of the country's residents belong to an organized religion and the majority practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings are possible by doing good deeds.

All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with religious backgrounds to be more reluctant to learn about evolution than those who do not. The reasons behind this aren't obvious. Students who have a religious background may not be as experienced with the theories of science, making them more vulnerable to creationists influence. Another possible factor is that students who have religious backgrounds tend to view evolution as a religious concept and therefore less comfortable with it.

2. Evolution and Science

In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concerns in the scientific community. A study conducted in 2009 found that nearly 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it could be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite click the next web page that creationism has been a huge success in some states, a lot of scientists believe that the best strategy to stop this trend is not to actively engage in it, but to inform the public on the evidence supporting evolution.

Scientists have a duty to instruct their students in science, including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the scientific process and how knowledge is collected and verified. They should also explain that theories of science are often challenged and reformulated. However, misunderstandings regarding the nature of scientific research frequently fuel anti-evolution beliefs.

Some people confuse the word "theory" as a hunch, or a guess. In science, however, a theory is rigorously tested and verified with evidence. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.

The debate about evolution theory is a great occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific methodology and its limitations. It is essential that people understand that science does not answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to grow and adapt.

A comprehensive education should include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require understanding of how science functions.

The vast majority scientists in the world agree that humans have evolved through time. In a recent study, which predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this topic those with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely believe that there is wide agreement among scientists about human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less scientific knowledge tend to be more divided. It is crucial that educators insist on the importance of understanding this consensus, to enable people to make informed decisions about the use of energy, health care and other issues of policy.

3. Evolution and Culture

A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution studies the numerous ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with one another. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools that are adapted from the ones used by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to find out the genesis of our capacity for culture.

This method also acknowledges that there are some differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are typically inherited all at once (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one trait may affect the development of another.

In Korea the introduction of Western elements of style in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result a complex sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and styles of clothing to Korean society.

Then, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to revert. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united but this time under the Choson dynasty rule.

Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent financial crisis the economy of Korea has been growing at a steady pace over the last decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the future.


However, the current government faces numerous challenges. One of the most significant is the inability to come up with a consistent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings of the country's economic policies, particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not be sustainable in the long run.

Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government has to review its economic strategy and look for alternatives to increase domestic demand. It must also revamp the incentive monitoring, control, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee an environment that is stable for the financial sector. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis era.

4. Evolution and Education

The challenge for teachers of evolution lies in how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different ages and stages of development. Teachers must, for example be mindful of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also recognize common misconceptions about evolution, and how to deal with them in their classrooms. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources for teaching evolution and be able to find them quickly.

In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational researchers, as well as government funding agency officials, and curriculum developers. The convergence of different participants helped to identify the common recommendations that will form the basis for future actions.

It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this goal it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in an integrated manner across all sciences using a sequence of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools about how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.

Multiple studies have proven that a more thorough presentation of evolution is linked to a greater understanding of students and belief in the concept of evolution. It is difficult to determine the causality of teaching in the classroom, since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are dependent on the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem I use an ongoing dataset that gives me to control state and years fixed effects and individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers regarding evolutionary theory.

Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution also report fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about evolution-related topics in the classroom. They may also be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.