Evolution Korea

The financial crisis that hit Asia caused a major review of the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risk. In Korea this meant an evolution of the development model.

In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes the evidence for evolution of horses and of the bird ancestral Archaeopteryx.

1. Evolution and Religion

A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.

When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists around the globe expressed concern. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.

Researchers are also worried that the STR campaign will spread to other parts of the world, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.

South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the debate on evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religion, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is founded on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are one with Hanulnim the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings are possible through the good deeds of a person.

All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have a religious background to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution as compared to those who do not. The causes behind this are not clear. One explanation is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific concepts and theories which makes them more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another possible factor is that students who have religious backgrounds are more likely to see evolution as a religious concept and therefore less comfortable with it.

1. Evolution and Science

In recent times, the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution efforts in schools. A 2009 survey revealed nearly 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism the best method to combat this movement is to educate the public on the evidence supporting evolution.

Scientists have a responsibility to teach their students about science and the theory of evolution. They must also inform people about the science process and how knowledge from science is gathered and confirmed. They must also explain how scientific theories are often challenged and modified. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of research can lead to a negative view of evolution.

Many people mistake the term "theory" as a guess or a guess. In the field of science, however, a hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly becomes a scientific principle.

The debate on evolution theory is an excellent chance to discuss the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is crucial to understand that science cannot answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to grow and change.

A well-rounded education should also include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require a knowledge of how science works.

The majority of scientists around world accept that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' view of the consensus on this subject found that those with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less science knowledge tend to disagree more. It is essential that educators insist on knowing the general consensus on this issue to ensure that individuals are able to making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.

1. Evolution and Culture

A close cousin to the popular evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with each other. Researchers in this field employ explanatory tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and reach back to human prehistory to find the origins of culture.

This approach also recognizes the difference between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely acquired at once (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. As a result, the emergence of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.

In Korea for instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the late 19th and early 20th century was a result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.

After that, when Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a portion of these trends began reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea had once again unified but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.

Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the near future.

The current government is faced by a myriad of problems. One of the biggest is its inability to develop a consistent policy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not be sustainable in the long run.

The financial crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government has to rethink its strategy and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable and stable financial environment the government will need to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter presents several scenarios on how the Korean economy could develop post-crisis.

1. Evolution and Education

The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to present evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of various age groups and developmental stages. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create a learning environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Additionally, teachers must understand common misconceptions about evolution, and how to confront these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the many resources to teach evolution.

In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of fields to discuss best methods for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.

One of the most important recommendations is that the teaching of evolution should be integrated in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are a way to achieve this goal. A new publication from NRC offers guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.

A number of studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive teaching of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causality of teaching in the classroom since school curricula don't change on a regular basis and are dependent on the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this issue I employ a longitudinal data set that gives me to control state and years fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.

Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that faculty who are more confident are less likely to avoid questions about evolution in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.