Evolution Korea
Korean scientists don't take any risks in the fight over evolution. The Society for Textbook Revise (STR) has been battling to have Archaeopteryx and horses removed from textbooks, saying they are common symbols of evolutionism.
Confucian practices, with their emphasis on worldly success and high valuation of education, still dominate the culture of the country. But Korea is looking for an alternative model of development.
Origins
The growth of Iron Age culture brought more sophisticated states such as Goguryeo Baekje and Silla to the Korean peninsula. They all developed their own culture which blended with the influence of their powerful neighbours and also embraced various aspects of Chinese culture, particularly Confucianism and Buddhism while shamanism remained to be practised too.
Goguryeo was the first of these kingdoms to implement its own system of government on the Korean people. It instituted a king-centered system of government in the 2nd Century. Through a series of wars, it drove away the factions that were loyal to the Han dynasty from the north of the peninsula. It also expanded its territory in Manchuria too.
During this period there was a regional confederation known as Buyeo was created. Its founder Wang Geon was given the title king and his name was recorded down in the 13th-century Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms). Buyeo became known as Goryeo and this is how the name Korea was created. Goryeo was a major commercial state as well as a center of learning. They raised sheep, goats as well as other livestock, and made furs out of the animals. They danced in masked dramas like tallori and sandaenori. And they held a festival every year in December, which was called Yeonggo.
The economy of Goryeo was boosted by brisk trade with other countries, including the Song Dynasty of China. Byeongnando was the main entry point to Gaeseong the capital city of Gaeseong. Traders came from Central Asia, Arabia and Southeast Asia. Some of the items they brought were medicinal herbs and silk.
Around 8,000 BCE the Koreans began establishing permanent settlements and cultivating cereal crops. They also developed pottery and polished stone tools, and started organising themselves into clan societies. The Neolithic Age continued until the 12th Century BC. At this time, Gija, a Shang dynasty prince from China, is said to have introduced high-culture to Korea. In the 20th century, many Koreans believed that Dangun and Gija gave Korea its people and their traditional culture as well as their culture.
Functions
Korea's previous development model that stressed the importance of state-led capital accumulation and government intervention in industry and business, aided in rapid economic growth, which took it from being one of the world's poorest nations to the ranks of OECD countries in just three decades. However, this model was filled with moral hazard and outright corruption which made it not sustainable in a global environment of trade liberalization, openness and democratization.
The current crisis has exposed the flaws of the old paradigm, and it is likely that a new model will be developed in its place. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the genesis of Korea's business-government risk partnership, and demonstrate how the emergence of economic actors with an interest in maintaining this model prevented it from adopting fundamental reforms. These chapters, which are focused on corporate governance and financial resources allocation, provide a thorough examination of the causes of the current crisis and suggest ways to proceed with reforms.
Chapter 5 explores the possible avenues for Korea's post-crisis paradigm of development, exploring both the legacies of the past, as well as the new trends created by the IT revolution. It also explores the implications of these developments for Korea's political and social structures.
The main conclusion is that there are several emerging trends that are transforming the nature of power and will determine the future of the country. For instance, despite fact that political participation is still extremely restricted in Korea, new forms of political activism bypass and challenge the power of political parties, thus transforming democratic structure of the country.
Another significant finding is that the power of the Korean elite is not as powerful as it was in the past, and that a significant portion of society feels a sense of disconnection from the ruling class. This is a sign of the need for more civic involvement and education and new models of power-sharing. The chapter concludes with the statement that the success of Korea's new model of development will be determined by how these trends can be integrated and if people are willing to make difficult decisions.
Benefits
South Korea has the ninth largest economy in the world and the sixth fastest-growing. It has a large and growing middle class as well as a strong research and development base that drives innovation. The government has also recently increased its investments in infrastructure projects, to support the growth of the economy and to promote social equity.
In 2008 the Lee Myung-bak administration released five leading indicators in an attempt to establish a new system of development with a focus on change and practicality. It made efforts to streamline government administration and privatize public companies for greater efficiency, and overhaul the administrative regulations.
Since the end of Cold War, South Korea is pursuing a strategy for integration of its economy with the rest of the world and beyond the region. Exports of high-tech consumer electronics and advanced manufacturing techniques have become an important source of income. The government is also pushing Saemaeul Undong, which is a new movement of the community, to transform the country from one that is primarily agricultural to one that is focused on manufacturing.
The country also has a high standard of living, and provides a range of benefits to employees, such as the right to maternity leave and job security. Employers are also required to purchase accident insurance, which covers payments for work-related illnesses or injuries. Likewise, it is typical for businesses to offer private medical insurance that provides coverage for illness not covered by the National Health Insurance.
As a result, South Korea has been seen as a model of success for many of the developing countries around the world. However the global financial crisis that swept through Asia in 1997 challenged this perception. The crisis shattering the conventional wisdom about Asia's miraculous economies and led to a fundamental reappraisal of the role played by the state in managing the risky activities of private business.
It appears that Korea's destiny is still uncertain in the aftermath of these changes. A new generation of leaders have embraced the image as an "strong leader" and begun to experiment in market-oriented policies. On the other hand, a strong domestic power base has made it difficult to implement radical change.
Advantages
The reemergence of creationists is a major hurdle to Korean science's efforts to inform people about evolution. While the majority of Koreans favor teaching evolution in schools one small group of creationist groups -- led by a microbiologist called Bun-Sam Lim who is the president of the Society for Textbook Revise (STR)--is pushing for its deletion from textbooks. STR argues teaching evolution promotes the idea of a "materialist atheism" and presents an "unhopeful worldview" for students. This can cause them to lose their faith in humanity.
The causes of anti-evolutionist sentiments are complex and diverse. Some researchers suggest that it is due to religious belief, while others point to an increasing prevalence of anti-intellectualism, which has been exacerbated by growing political elite fragmentation along ideologies, regions, class, and gender. The one-sided populism that is backed by powerful conservative think groups, business interests, and other influential organizations, has also led to a growing distrust of the scientific community.
In the end the study's findings about numerous vulnerabilities point to the need for targeted interventions to mitigate them in advance. These insights will help Seoul to achieve its goal of becoming a cityscape that is harmonious.
In the COVID-19 case, identifying the vulnerable neighborhoods and their occupants will be essential to crafting specific, compassionate policies that will bolster their welfare and security. For instance, the extreme effect of the pandemic on Jjokbangs reflects socio-economic disparities that can compound vulnerability to natural and human-made disasters.
To overcome this, South Korea needs a more inclusive civil society that can bring all communities together to tackle the city's biggest challenges. This requires a fundamental shift in the structure of institutional politics beginning with the power of the presidency. The Blue House can mobilize a large bureaucracy, and also use the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, and the intelligence bureau to exert influence on the political scene. These agencies aren't subject to oversight by the parliamentary bodies or independent inspectors. This gives the president a lot of power to dictate his vision to the rest of the country. Read More Listed here could lead to polarization and stagnation of the country.
