Evolution Korea
In the fight over evolution, Korean scientists aren't taking their chances. The Society for Textbook Revise has been fighting to eliminate Archaeopteryx, horses and other evolutionist icons from textbooks.
Confucian practices, with their focus on achieving success in the world and high value of education still dominate the culture of the country. But Korea is seeking an alternative development model.
Origins
The growth of Iron Age cultures brought more sophisticated states to the Korean Peninsula, including Goguryeo and Baekje. They all developed a unique culture that merged with the influence of their powerful neighbors and they also adopted aspects of Chinese culture, especially Confucianism and Buddhism, although shamanism continued to be practised too.
Goguryeo, the first of the Korean kingdoms was the first to establish their own system of government. It established its authority at the end of the 1st century and established a king-centered governing system by the beginning of the 2nd century. Through a series of wars, it wiped out the factions that were loyal to the Han dynasty from the north of the peninsula and expanded its territory in Manchuria too.
It was during this time that a regional confederation was formed named Buyeo. In the Samguk yusa of the 13th century Wang Geon's name was listed as king. Buyeo was renamed Goryeo and, consequently, the name was adopted by Korea. Goryeo was a prosperous commercial economy and was also a place for education. They raised goats, sheep as well as other livestock, and created furs from the animals. They wrote poetry and dance-dramas with masks such as tallori and sandaenori and also celebrated an annual festival known as Yeonggo in December.
The economy of Goryeo was stimulated by the brisk trade, which included the Song Dynasty in China. Traders from Central Asia, Arabia, Southeast Asia and Japan came to Byeongnando, the gateway to the capital city of Gaeseong. Among the goods they brought were medicinal herbs and silk.
Around 8,000 BCE In the year 8,000 BCE, the Koreans began to establish permanent settlements and began to cultivate cereal crops. They also invented pottery and polished stone tools, and began to organize themselves into clan societies. The Neolithic Age continued until the 12th century BC. Around this time, Gija, a Shang dynasty prince from China, is said to have introduced high-culture to Korea. Up until the 20th century, a lot of Koreans believed that Dangun and Gija gave Korea its people and their basic culture as well as their culture.
Functions
Korea's previous development model that emphasized the importance of state-led capital accumulation and government intervention in industries and business, contributed to rapid economic growth that took it from being one of the world's poorest economies to the ranks of OECD countries in three decades. However, the system was fraught with moral hazard and outright corruption, making it not sustainable in a global environment of liberalization, trade and the process of democratization.
The current crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the previous paradigm, and it is likely that a new model will emerge to replace it. Chapters 3 and 4 look at the roots of Korea's government-business risk partnership, and show how the rise of economic actors who have an interest in maintaining this system prevented it from adopting fundamental reforms. By focusing on corporate governance and the allocation of financial resources, these chapters provide an in-depth examination of the underlying causes of the crisis and provide suggestions towards ways to move forward through reforms.
Chapter 5 explores the possible paths for Korea's post-crisis development paradigm evolution by examining both the legacy of the past as well as the new trends created by the IT revolution. It also examines how these trends will impact Korea's political and social structures.
The major finding is that there are a variety of emerging trends that are transforming the nature of power and will affect the future of the country. In spite of the fact that participation in politics in Korea is still very restricted New forms of power are emerging that are able to bypass political parties and challenge them, thus changing the system of democracy in Korea.
Another significant finding is that the power of the Korean elite isn't as great as it once was and that a significant portion of society has a sense of being disconnected from the ruling class. This is a sign of a need for more efforts at civic education and participation, as well as for new models of power sharing. The chapter concludes that the success or failure of Korea's development model will depend on how well these new trends can be incorporated into the willingness to make difficult choices.
Benefits
South Korea is the world's ninth-largest economy and sixth fastest growing. It has an expanding middle class and an R&D-based base that drives innovation. The government has recently increased its investment in infrastructure projects, to boost economic growth and encourage social equity.
In 2008, Lee Myung-bak's administration announced five indicators of leadership in a bid to create a new development system with the emphasis on changes and practicality. It attempted to streamline the government's organization and privatize public corporations with higher efficiency, and reform administrative regulations.
Since the ending of the Cold War, South Korea is pursuing a strategy for integration of its economy the rest and beyond the region. Exports of high-tech consumer electronics and advanced manufacturing techniques have become a major source of income. The government is also promoting Saemaeul Undong, which is a new community movement, to transform the country from one that is primarily agricultural into one that is focused on manufacturing.
The country has a great quality of life and offers many benefits to its employees such as maternity leave, and job stability. Moreover, employers are required to purchase accident insurance, which covers the costs for work-related illnesses or injury. In addition, it is typical for businesses to offer private medical insurance which provides coverage for illness not covered by the National Health Insurance.
In the end, South Korea has been thought of as a model for success for many of the developing nations around the globe. However, the global financial crisis that swept through Asia in 1997 challenged this notion. The crisis shattered conventional wisdom about Asia's miraculous economies and resulted in a radical rethinking of the role played by the state in regulating the risky activities of private business.
It appears that Korea's future is still uncertain in the aftermath of these changes. On the one side, a new era of leaders has adopted the image of being a "strong" leader and has begun to explore market-oriented policies. A strong power base in the domestic arena makes it difficult to implement any fundamental change.
Disadvantages
The reemergence of the creationists is a major obstacle to Korean science's efforts to inform citizens about evolution. While the majority of Koreans support teaching evolution in schools, some creationist groups, led by a microbiologist named Bun-Sam Lim, who is the head of the Society for Textbook Revise (STR)--is pushing for its deletion from textbooks. STR claims that teaching evolution promotes "atheist materialism" and portrays an "unhopeful" worldview for students, which could cause them to lose faith in humanity.
The reasons behind this anti-evolutionary sentiment are a bit ambiguous 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. Additionally the one-sided populism of the federal government, aided by powerful conservative business interests and think tanks which has led to public disdain for the scientific community.
In the final analysis the study's findings regarding widespread vulnerabilities highlight a need for targeted policy interventions to mitigate them in advance. As similar site continues to work towards becoming a cohesive urban landscape, these findings can be used to inspire a unified push for greater inclusiveness in its policies.
In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, pinpointing vulnerable neighborhoods and occupants is essential to devise specific compassionate policy measures to ensure their security and well-being. For example, the disproportionate impact of the disease on Jjokbangs is a reflection of the socioeconomic disparities that can compound vulnerability to natural and manmade catastrophes.
To overcome this, South Korea needs a more inclusive civil society that can bring all communities together to solve the city's biggest challenges. This requires a fundamental change in the structure of institutional politics, starting with the power of the presidency. The Blue House is able to mobilise a large bureaucracy and influence the political power of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office and intelligence bureau, which lack any checks from the parliamentary bodies or independent inspection agencies. This gives the president a huge leverage to impose his or her vision on the rest of the country. This can lead to the emergence of partisanship, which can lead to stagnation and polarization throughout the country.