http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...o-remove-evolution-from-high-school-textbooks South Korea may soon remove evolution from its high school textbooks, in what appears to be a victory for a creationist campaign there. A report on science and science-fiction website io9.com said the campaign had sought to have specific examples of evolution removed from high school textbooks. "The campaign, which was led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), is aiming to delete the 'error' of evolution from textbooks in order to 'correct' students' views of the world," io9.com said. It said the group started a petition to remove references to evolution from high school textbooks - a strategy that appears to have worked. According to io9.com, the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) announced textbook publishers will revise editions that exclude examples of the evolution of the horse and the Archaeopteryx, an ancestor of modern day birds. But io9.com said the announcement has shocked a number of biologists who complain that they were not consulted. Dayk Jan, an evolutionary scientist as Seoul National University, said the South Korean ministry sent the petition directly to the publishing companies where they judged it for themselves. For its part, STR claimed its group includes professors of biology and high-school science teachers. Meanwhile, the creationist-minded group is looking to take the issue even further. Citing a report in Nature, io9.com said the STR is also campaigning to remove content about "the evolution of humans" and "the adaptation of finch beaks based on habitat and mode of sustenance," a reference to one of the most famous observations in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The group highlighted recent discoveries that Archaeopteryx is one of many feathered dinosaurs, and not necessarily an ancestor of all birds. Joonghwan Jeon, an evolutionary psychologist at Kyung Hee University in Yongin, said exploiting such debates over the lineage of species "is a typical strategy of creation scientists to attack the teaching of evolution itself." Creation science STR is an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research (KACR), according to KACR spokesman Jungyeol Han. With KACR's efforts, creation science, which seeks to provide evidence in support of the creation myth described in the Book of Genesis, has had a growing influence in South Korea, although the STR itself has distanced itself from such doctrines. In early 2008, the KACR held an exhibition at Seoul Land, one of the country's leading amusement parks. According to the group, the exhibition attracted more than 116,000 visitors in three months, and the park is now in talks to create a year-long exhibition. Influence of Christian population The io9.com article said South Korea's strong creationist sentiment is apparently due in part to its large Christian population. "Nearly one-third of South Koreans don't believe in evolution, claiming that there isn't enough scientific evidence to support it, or that it contradicted their religious beliefs. Others simply stated that they didn't understand the theory — an indication that evolutionary biology is insufficiently taught in that country," it said. It added there are only five to 10 evolutionary scientists in South Korea who teach the theory of evolution in undergraduate and graduate schools. Also, it said a recent Gallup poll in the United States indicated that around 40 percent of Americans do not believe that humans evolved from less advanced forms of life. That contrasts to 59-percent acceptance in Canada, and above 80 percent in some European countries. Dayk Jang is now organizing a group of experts, including evolutionary biologists and theologians who believe in evolution, to counter this. Their ultimate goal is to improve the teaching of evolution in the classroom and in broader public life. — TJD, GMA News
3/4 of it is private. So it's a good thing that their government indoctrination can only affect an minority.
I don't really care about what they're teaching in South Korea, but it does always annoy me when scientists think they personally should have some input in public policy decisions. They seem to think scientific inquiry is the only field where specialization is of any value and that any amateur could do just as good a job making political decisions.
ummm...i'm not mathematician, but 40% of Americans not believing in evolution...and 59% of Canadians believing in evolution is not much of a contrast. :grin:
I don't think this is the case at all. If the government started requiring math be taught differently than mathematicians believe, I imagine they would be unhappy too. I suspect that if health teaching is changed for political reasons, doctors and other health specialists would be annoyed, etc.
wat I am not sure exactly what you are trying to say. 99% of the things to do everyday involves science in some way or form. it's the laws of physics that rules us. Praying to god didnt create the computer you are on to allow you to post here. It's years of science and research that allowed this to happen. More examples since you sound very very confused -(Eating food requires a process of sanitation involving technology created from scientific inquiry) - (driving to work requires a car which is a form of transportation made possible thanks to engineers using laws of physics and science)
This is the most pointless argument ever. Creationism or Evolution, so what. It has no effect on day to day life for ANYONE. Can you become the President or politician believing in either one of the above? Yep. What about a teacher? Yep. Doctor? Yep. Lawyer? Yep. Programmer? Yes. Accountant? Yep. Anything you want? Even a pastor or scientist?! Absolutely. So what's the point of the argument other than telling someone that their religion is dumb and that they're an idiot, or that they're logic and science is buying them a one way ticket to hell. Get over it already. Believe what you want, and leave other people alone. Just my rant...
but evolution is the foundation of modern biology, it is like you say we don't want E=MC2 or force = mass x accerlation in physics.
No it's not. The argument of whether people came from monkeys or God's image has no bearing remotely as concrete as E=MC2. The argument just simply not important as it's made out to be.
