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Evolution Korea The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review of the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea, this meant a shift in the development paradigm. In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution in science books for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the bird 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 materialistic views create a negative image for students and leads to their eventual denial 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 at Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks. Some scientists are worried that the STR could be spread to other regions of the globe, where the belief in creationism has been increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement could push for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim population. South Korea's culture is particularly strong for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans are members of a religion, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo – the philosophy based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun, and that divine blessings can be achieved by doing good deeds. All of this has made creationism fertile ground. Several studies have shown that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those without religion. The underlying reasons for this phenomenon are not clear. One explanation is that students with a religious background tend not to be as knowledgeable about scientific theories and concepts which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another factor could be that students with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a concept that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable. 2. Evolution and Science In recent years, anti-evolution programs in schools have raised concerns within the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed that more than 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it would conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism the best method to stop this movement is to educate the public on the evidence supporting evolution. Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science that includes the theory of evolution. They also need to educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is validated. They must also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and re-examined. However, misperceptions about the nature of research conducted by scientists often create anti-evolution beliefs. Many people mistake the term “theory” as a guess, or a guess. In evolutionkr of science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that survives repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific concept. The debate about the evolutionary theory provides a great occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important for people to recognize that science cannot answer questions about the meaning or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism by which living things can grow and change. Furthermore, a comprehensive education should include exposure to all the major scientific fields that include evolutionary biology. This is crucial because the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science works. The vast majority scientists in the world agree that humans have evolved through time. In a recent study that predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this subject people with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe that there is a broad consensus among scientists on the evolution of humans. People with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is essential that teachers insist on the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus to enable people to make informed decisions regarding energy use, health care and other policy issues. 3. Evolution and Culture Cultural evolution is a close relative of mainstream evolutionary theory. It examines how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this area use elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and go back to human prehistory to discover the origins of culture. This approach also acknowledges that there are some differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are largely inherited all at once (in sexual species, at fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another. In Korea For instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th centuries was the result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothing. After that, when Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to revert. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty. Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the past decade and is expected to maintain its steady growth in the future. However, the current administration faces numerous challenges. The inability of the government to come up with a coherent strategy to tackle the current economic crisis is among the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's economy policies, mainly its overreliance on foreign investment and exports which might not be sustainable over the long term. As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government must review its economic strategy and look for alternatives to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government will need reform its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis period. 4. Evolution and Education One of the biggest challenges for educators of evolution is how to present evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of different ages 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 of both religious and secular perspectives feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and know how 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 a crucial step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of fields to discuss best methods for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of various stakeholders helped identify a set of shared recommendations which will serve as the basis 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 a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are one way to achieve this goal. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the life science curriculum. Multiple studies have shown that a more thorough explanation of evolution can lead to better understanding by students and belief in evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causality of teaching in the classroom since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are influenced by the timing of the state board of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this limitation, i use a longitudinal data set that gives me to control state and years fixed effects as well as 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 notion that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they may be more likely to use strategies such as the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).