Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia led to a major rethinking of the old system of government and business alliances, as well the public management of risk. In Korea, that meant an evolution of the development model.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has requested publishers of textbooks to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution in high school science texts. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the Avian ancestor 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 Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that such materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists around the world expressed worry. In a letter 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 around the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will spread to other parts around the globe, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement could intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, notably those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong in the evolution debate. 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 Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is founded on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings are achievable through the good works of one's.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. Multiple studies have shown students who have religious backgrounds to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution than those who do not. However, the underlying causes of this phenomenon remain unclear. Full Content is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific concepts and theories and are therefore more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have raised concern among the scientific community. A study conducted in 2009 found that more than 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their religious 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 about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a duty to teach their students about science and the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the scientific process and how knowledge is gathered and confirmed. They must explain how theories of science are frequently challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views.
For example, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or guess. In science, however, a hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly is then a scientific principle.
The debate over the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limits. It is essential for people to recognize that science is not able to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism that allows living things to evolve and change.
Moreover, a well-rounded education should cover the vast majority of 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 works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study that predicted adults' views of the consensus on this subject found that those who had higher levels of education and science knowledge were more likely to believe there is a general consensus between scientists regarding human evolution. People with a higher level of religious belief but less science knowledge tend to disagree more. It is crucial that teachers insist on understanding the general consensus on this issue, so that people are able to making informed decisions about their health care, energy usage, and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that humans and other species learn from and with one another. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This approach also acknowledges the difference between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are typically acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of a cultural characteristic may affect the development and growth of a different.
In Korea, for example, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series 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.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of these trends began to reverse. By the end World War II, Korea was once again united and again under the Choson dynasty rule.
에볼루션코리아 , Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent Korea's economy has been growing consistently over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the coming years.
However, the current administration faces numerous challenges. The government's inability to formulate an effective strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is among the biggest challenges. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies and its reliance on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government must reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate, the government will have reform its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators lies in how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various levels of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance be mindful of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers must also be able recognize common misconceptions about evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have access to a variety of resources available to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse groups helped to identify a shared set of recommendations that will form the basis for future actions.
One important recommendation is that the study of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. To achieve this goal it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in an integrated manner across all life sciences, with a progression of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough teaching of evolution is associated with higher levels of student understanding and belief in evolution. However the estimation of the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is difficult given that school curricula are not randomly assigned and change in time as a result of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as state board of education appointments. To overcome this issue, I use a longitudinal data set that allows me to account for state and year fixed effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Another important finding is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to doing so. This is consistent with the idea that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid tackling evolution topics in the classroom and may be more likely to use 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).