Evolution Korea
South Korea's democracy is prone to populist tendencies. However, it's healthier than what one might expect.
The country is looking for a new way of developing. The Confucian culture, which stresses respect for the ancestors as well as gendered family relationships, continues to influence the society. There are indications of a secularist culture trend forming.
Origins
In the prehistoric era the ancestors of today's Koreans were able to survive by hunting and gathering wild food. Then around 10,000 years ago, they began to grow crops such as millet and beans. They also raised livestock and created furs. They created tribal states in Manchuria, and then on the Korean peninsula. They also established an industry of metallurgy, which produced bronze and later iron tools. They traded with other states and introduced Celadon paper making, block printing art styles, and writing to Japan.
In 2333 BCE Gojoseon was founded in the southern region of the peninsula. This state embraced Buddhism and adopted Chinese culture, including Confucian philosophy. In this time, the inhabitants of Buyeo joined Gojoseon. Gojoseon had a hierarchical structure in which a monarch and senior officials were drawn from the landed aristocracy, while the rest of the population was peasants. The state imposed taxes on these citizens, and often required them to serve in the army or work on government projects such as building fortifications.
At the close of this period, the state of Baekje was founded by Onjo who was a prince of Goguryeo and the son of Jumong who was the founder of Goguryeo. The new kingdom expanded to the southwest part of the peninsula, and fought with China's commandos and Goguryeo's in the region. Baekje introduced elements of Confucian thinking into its state beliefs and made the male-centric concept of filiopiety as a law in 1390 CE. Under the cover of filiopiety fathers were responsible to their families. They were expected to be obedient to everyone and respected even by their grandchildren and children.
Goryeo, a nation which ruled from 918 until 1392 CE, gave the world the Hangul Alphabet based on the shapes that were created by the mouth when pronouncing. This dramatically improved the communication between people and resulted in an explosion of the writing of Buddhist texts. Woodblock printing and the movable metal type were also refined. It was during this time that the Samguk sagi or 'History of the Three Kingdoms' was first recorded in 1145 CE.
Development in Korea
The Korean peninsula has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Early evidence of human settlements are visible in the form of graves lined with stone, with precious goods such as amazonite jewellery being buried along with the dead. Megalithic structures, referred to as dolmens, built from huge single stones, are widespread throughout the country.
Gojoseon was the first political state to be recognized in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE. The peninsula was later ruled by a number of states during the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC-635 CE) which included Baekje and Goguryeo. Moreover, the northern region of the peninsula was ruled by the Balhae kingdom, which the majority of historians do not believe to be a legitimate Korean state.
After the Three Kingdoms, several smaller states arose in the Proto-Three Kingdoms period, or Several States Period (yeolgugsidae). In all of them, Baekje was the most powerful however, its dynasty ended with the fall of Goguryeo in 676 CE, leaving it with its southern territories of Manchuria and the western region surrounding the Hwanghae Bay, while eastern Buyeo and the Gaya confederacy flourished for a short time.
The Unified Silla kingdom then emerged and the three kingdoms began to work together in order to expand their territorial holdings. In the final, Silla, with significant Chinese assistance, defeated all other states and united the peninsula in 935 CE.
As Korea is entering the post-crisis phase its development model is in flux. Those who are horrified by the cost of the old systems advocate a comprehensive program of liberalization of capital, labor and product markets. On the other hand, supporters of the old system try to protect it by promoting nationalist sentiments, as well as by inflating fears about potential job losses.
The academic and policy analysts remain starkly divided as to the extent to which these two developments are driving Koreas development towards a new model of economic governance. This article analyzes the five phases of the Korean evolution in terms of its political development including democratic democracies that are not liberal (1945-60) democratic autoritarianism (1961-72) authoritarian exceptionalism (1972-1877) democratic paternalism (2001-2002) and participatory democracy (2002). This article also identifies the key factors that are shaping these processes.
Creationism in Korea
In South Korea, 26% of the population is Christian. Creationists have made significant progress in promoting their views to this segment. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that almost a third of respondents did not believe in evolution. Of those, 41% said there was not enough scientific evidence to support the theory 39% believed it was contrary to their religious beliefs, and 17 percent said they did not comprehend it. This level of doubt is similar to that in the United States, where a similar percentage of people do not believe that humans evolved from earlier species of life.
In the past, the anti-evolution campaign in Korea focused primarily on the education of students and bringing Christ to them. A significant increase in interest in creation science came in the year 1980, when there was the inauguration of a four-day seminar during the World Evangelization Crusade in Seoul that included Drs. Henry Morris and Duane Giss of ICR were the main speakers. This event was attended by an audience of scientists, professors and church leaders.
The success of this event resulted in the creation of the Korea Association of Creation Research (KACR) on January 31st, 1981. The inaugural event was widely reported in national newspapers, including The Korea Times and Chosun Ilbo and attracted a lot of attention.
KACR began publishing a newsletter called CREATION. In CREATION, the organization published its own activities and published articles on scientific evidence for the existence of God. It also translated slides and 에볼루션바카라 film strips from ICR and also some books on creationism which were published outside of Korea. KACR members gave lectures at universities and churches throughout the country.
One example of a KACR success story took place at the KAIST university in Seoul. There, students were so interested in the idea of creationism that they raised enough money and support to construct an on-campus museum showing creationist models of fossils and other exhibits.
In addition to its work, KACR has published a bimonthly magazine called CREATION. This magazine covers topics in the creation science. It also sponsored a series of lectures by ICR staff. It also has branches in local offices that offer seminars and talks to schoolchildren and community groups.
Evolution in South Korea
In the latter half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, Korea moved toward a Westernised lifestyle. The hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, gave way to miniskirts, as well as other fashion elements from abroad. Similarly, traditional Korean music styles were replaced by contemporary jazz and rock and roll. During this time, the famous samulnori, or masked dance-dramas, became loved by the public. These dramatic pieces were performed to the beat of shaman drums and other instruments of music.
The economic crisis has formed Korea's new model of development. The biggest challenge facing the new regime is to find an equilibrium between market-oriented and state-led policies. It also requires a change in the incentives and monitoring policies that created the pre-crisis system. These issues are addressed in Chapters 3 and 4.
Baekje was founded by Onjo the prince and third son of Jumong of Goguryeo was founded by people from the Hangang River area, Buyeo and other areas, as well as migrants from northern China. In the 4th century, in the early part of, Baekje was a major regional power and expanded its territory as far as Mahan in the north and Jeollanam-do in the south. In the process, it entered into frequent battle with Goguryeo and the Chinese commanders across the border.
The decline of Silla between the 8th and 9th centuries led to the rise of powerful local factions. Gungye was a nobleman from Later Baekje who established a kingdom in Songak with Songak as its capital. He ruled a portion of today's Jeolla province as well as Chungcheong. Later, he relocated the capital to Wansanju and became a rival of Goguryeo.
However his rule was not long-lasting. Wang Geon, a powerful local leader who defeated Gungye in 935 and united Goryeo, Baekje, and Silla Later, he incorporated Baekje into Goryeo and acted as a peaceful successor. Wang Geon also introduced fundamental reforms, and strengthened the centralized ruling system. This marked the closing of the Three Kingdoms period. From that point the Korean peninsula was ruled by the Goryeo Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Goguryeo Baekje Silla gradually grew into powerful states on the peninsula and in Manchuria.