The financial crisis that struck Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old system of business-government alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea, that required a change in 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 in science books for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the avian 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 decision was the result of a campaign led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates a negative image for students, causing them to lose faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed concerns when the STR campaign made headlines. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are concerned about the possibility that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the globe, where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's culture is particularly strong in the evolution debate. 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 Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are one with Hanulnim the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings can be obtained through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has made creationism fertile field. Several studies have shown that students with religious backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those without religion. However, the root causes of this phenomenon are unclear. One explanation is that students who have religious beliefs tend to be as well-versed in scientific concepts and theories, which makes them more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a concept that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concern among the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong, and that a belief in it would conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the success of creationism, the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are responsible to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They also need to educate the public on the research process and the way in which knowledge is validated. They should also explain that scientific theories are frequently challenged and reformulated. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a guess or a guess. In the realm of science the theory is rigorously tested and verified through empirical evidence. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observations becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate on evolution theory is a great occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is important that people understand that science does not answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but rather allows living things to grow and change.
A well-rounded education should cover all major fields of science that include evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and decisions require that individuals understand how science operates.
The majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved over time. A recent study that predicted the adults' opinions 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 consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. People with a higher level of religious belief but less science knowledge tend to disagree more. It is important that educators insist on the importance of understanding this consensus, to enable people to make informed choices about health care, energy usage, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the popular evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution focuses on the various ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field utilize explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This approach also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, after fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. This means that the acquisition of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.
In Korea For instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the late 19th century and the early 20th century was a result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and styles of clothing to Korean society.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s some of these changes began to reverse. By the end of World War II, Korea was once again united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the past decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the coming years.
The current administration is faced with a variety of challenges. One of the most serious is its inability to develop a coherent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings of the country's economic policies, including its excessive dependence on exports and foreign investment which might not be sustainable in the long run.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government needs to rethink its economic strategy and find alternatives to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate the government needs reform its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for teachers of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various ages and stages of development. Teachers need to, for instance, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both secular and religious beliefs are comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Teachers should also have quick access to the many resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of disciplines to discuss best practices for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational research, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse groups led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will be the foundation for future actions.
One important recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be integrated in all science curricula at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences, with the developmentally appropriate, are one method to achieve this goal. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC offers guidelines to schools on how they can integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to a greater understanding of students and belief in evolution. However the estimation of the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is challenging due to the fact that school curriculums are not randomly assigned and evolve over time as a result of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set that allows me to account for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolution.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having fewer personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the hypothesis that more experienced faculty are less likely to avoid teaching about evolution in the classroom, and may be more likely to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution. 
