The economic crisis that swept across Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea, this meant a change in the model of development.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has asked textbooks publishers to ignore calls for the removal of examples of evolution in high school science texts. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded 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 offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialistic views create a negative image for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists around the globe expressed worry when the STR campaign gained attention. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues around the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Kr Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will be spread to other regions of the world, where the belief in creationism has been growing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution movement putting more pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's culture is especially strong in the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religious group and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that the heavenly blessings are achievable by doing good deeds.
All of this has created a fertile field. Several studies have shown that students with a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those who do not have a religious background. However, the root causes of this phenomenon are not known. Students with a religious background might be less familiar with scientific theories, making them more vulnerable to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background are more likely to see evolution as an atheistic concept which could make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent times scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A study conducted in 2009 found that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong and that believing in it would be contrary to their faith-based beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, many scientists believe that the best method to stop this trend is not to actively engage in with it, but rather inform the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are responsible to teach their students science that includes the theory of evolution. They must also inform the public about the process of scientific research and how knowledge is validated. They should also clarify that scientific theories are frequently challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
Many people mistake the term "theory" as a guess or guess. In science, however a hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to verify it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principle.
The debate on the theory of evolution is a wonderful opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is important to realize that science is unable to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means through which living organisms can develop and adapt.
A well-rounded education should include exposure to all the major scientific fields, including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and choices require people know the way science operates.
The majority of scientists around world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' opinions of the consensus around this issue found that those with higher education levels and knowledge of science were more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement between scientists regarding human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is important that educators insist on the importance of understanding this consensus so that people can make informed choices about energy use, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It focuses on how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this area use explanatory tools and investigative models adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to the prehistoric human to determine the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges that there are some differences between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely inherited all at once (in sexual species, at fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. The acquisition of one characteristic may affect the growth and development of another.
In Korea For instance the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century was a result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s some of these trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent financial crisis, Korea's economy has been growing at a steady pace over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the future.
The current government is facing a variety of challenges. The inability of the government to come up with a coherent plan to tackle the current economic crisis is among the biggest challenges. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment, which may not be sustainable in the long run.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government needs to reconsider its economic strategy and look for alternative ways to boost domestic demand. It will also have to reform the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems currently in place to ensure the stability of the financial system. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different stages of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment where students from both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Teachers should be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have access to a range of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the most effective methods of teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational research, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse groups led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the foundation 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) require that evolution be taught in a unified manner across all sciences with a progression of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more complete presentation of evolution is linked to greater student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causality of teaching in the classroom because the curriculum for schools do not change in a random manner and are affected by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem, I use a longitudinal data set which allows me to account for fixed state and year effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding the evolution of their curriculum.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is consistent with the notion that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they might be more likely employ strategies, such as an approach to reconciliation that is known to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).
