Evolution Korea
South Korea's democratic system is vulnerable to populist inclinations. It's still better than we had hoped for.
The country is looking for an alternative development model. A Confucian culture that values respect for the ancestors and gendered family relations continues to influence the way we live. There are indications of a secularist culture trend that is emerging.
Origins
In the prehistoric era the ancestors of the modern Koreans lived on hunting and gathering wild food. Around 10,000 years ago they began to cultivate millet, beans, and other crops. They also raised livestock and also made furs. These tribes formed tribal states in succession in Manchuria and on the Korean peninsula. They also established a metallurgy industry, producing iron tools, including bronze. They traded with other states and introduced Celadon paper making block printing art styles, as well as a written language to Japan.
Gojoseon was established in 2333 BCE on the southern peninsula. This state embraced Chinese culture which included Confucian Philosophy and Buddhism. At this time, the people of Buyeo were part of Gojoseon. Gojoseon had a hierarchical structure with a monarch and high-ranking officials were drawn from the landed aristocracy, while the rest of the population was peasants. The state collected taxes from these citizens, and sometimes forced them to serve in the army or construct fortifications.
At the close of the period, the state of Baekje was established by Onjo who was a prince of Goguryeo and the son of Jumong who was the founder of Goguryeo. The new kingdom expanded its territory to the southwest of the peninsula, and was at war with Goguryeo and China's commanderies in the area. Baekje introduced elements of Confucian beliefs into its official belief system and made the male centered concept of filiopiety an official doctrine in 1390 CE. In the name of filiopiety, fathers were responsible for their families, and had to be revered and obeyed by all, including their grandchildren and children.
Goryeo, which would rule from 918 to 1392 CE gave the world the Hangul alphabet built on the patterns created by the mouth when it was pronounced. This significantly improved communication between people and led to an explosion in the writing of Buddhist texts. Additionally, movable metal type printing was introduced, and woodblock printing was refined. In 1145 CE, the Samguk Sagi, or "History of the Three Kingdoms" was recorded for the first time.
Evolution in Korea
The Korean peninsula was habitable from Neolithic times until. Early evidence of human settlements is evident in the form of cist graves lined with stones, and adorned with precious objects like amazonite jewelry that were buried with the dead. Megalithic structures known as dolmens, constructed from enormous single stones, are also widespread throughout the country.
Gojoseon was the first state to be recognized during 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) including 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 valid Korean state.
Following the Three Kingdoms, several smaller states arose in the Proto-Three Kingdoms period, or Several States Period (yeolgugsidae). Baekje was the most powerful of these states was weakened by the Goguryeo's fall (676 CE) and was left with only its southern regions in Manchuria, and its western region around Hwanghae Bay. Eastern Buyeo, and the Gaya confederacy, flourished for a time.
The Unified Silla Kingdom then emerged and the three kingdoms began to cooperate to expand their territories. Silla, with the help of the Chinese, eventually conquered and united the peninsula in 935.
As Korea is entering the post-crisis phase the development paradigm of the country is in flux. Those who are horrified by the enormous cost of the old system are in favor of a comprehensive plan for liberalization of labor, capital and product markets. On the other hand, champions of the old system seek to keep it in place by leveraging nationalist sentiments and generating fear of job loss.
The academic and policy analysts remain in a tense debate about the extent to the extent that these two trends are driving Koreas evolution towards an entirely new model of economic governance. This article assesses developments to date by analyzing five phases of the country's political evolution including illiberal democracy (1945-60) democratic authoritarianism (1961-72), authoritarian exceptionalism (1972-87) democratic paternalism (1987-2001) and participatory democracy (2002 to present). This article also identifies the key elements that are the driving force behind these developments.
에볼루션 코리아 in Korea
In South Korea, 26 percent of the population is Christian. Creationists have made progress in promoting their views to this segment. A 2009 survey showed that almost one-third of respondents didn't believe in evolution. Of those who voted, 41% stated there was not enough scientific evidence to support the theory; 39% claimed that it did not align with their religious beliefs. 17% said they did not understand it. This level of doubt is similar to that of the United States, where a similar percentage of people do not believe that humans evolved from earlier forms of life.
In the past of the anti-evolution movement in Korea was focused on educating college students and in bringing them to Christ. In 1980 the year 1980, a four-day creation science seminar was held in Seoul during the World Evangelization Crusade. Drs. Henry Morris and Duane Giss of ICR were the featured speakers. The event attracted an audience of scientists, professors, and church leaders.
The success of the event led to the formation of the Korea Association of Creation Research on January 31st, 1980. The event was widely covered in the national press, including The Korea Times, Chosun Ilbo and The Korea Times.
KACR began publishing a monthly newsletter called CREATION, where it published its activities and published articles about scientific evidence for creationism. It also translated slides and film strips from ICR as well as a few books on creationism that were published outside of Korea. KACR members taught throughout the country in churches and universities.
A KACR success was witnessed at KAIST University in Seoul. Students at KAIST in Seoul were keen on the concept of creationism that they raised money and secured funding to build an enlightened museum on campus.
In addition to its activities, KACR has published a bimonthly magazine, CREATION. The magazine covers subjects in the creation science. It also sponsored a series of lectures by ICR staff. It has also organized a network of local branches that conduct seminars and give talks to children in schools and other community groups.
Changes in South Korea
In the late nineteenth century and the early 20th century, Korea began to adopt an increasingly Westernized lifestyle. The traditional Korean dress, the hanbok was replaced by miniskirts, as well as other foreign fashion elements. Similarly, traditional Korean music styles were replaced with modern jazz and rock and roll. During this time, the famous samulnori, or masked dance-dramas, were popular with the public. These dramatic pieces were performed to the accompaniment of shaman drums and other instruments.
The economic crisis has formed Korea's new model of development. The primary challenge facing the new regime is to find the right balance between the state-led economic policies and market-oriented ones. It also involves changing the incentives, monitoring, and disciplining policies that created the system before the crisis. These issues are addressed in Chapters 3 and 4.
The Baekje was founded by Onjo, prince of Goguryeo and the third son of Jumong, Baekje was established jointly by people living along the Hangang River, those from Buyeo and other areas and migrants from northern China. In the early 4th century, Baekje was a major regional power, and expanded its territory to Mahan in the north and Jeollanam-do in the south. This meant that it was constantly in conflict with Goguryeo and the Chinese commanders on the border.
The decline of Silla in the 8th and early 9th centuries enabled strong local factions to emerge. Gungye an eminent noble from Later Baekje, established a kingdom with Songak as its capital. It also held control over a portion of present-day Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces. Later, he relocated the capital to Wansanju and became a rival to Goguryeo.
His rule was however only for a short time. After Gungye's defeat, he was overthrown by a powerful local leader Wang Geon, who united Goryeo with Baekje and Silla in 935, Later Baekje was peacefully integrated into Goryeo as an heir state. Wang Geon also introduced fundamental reforms and strengthened the central government system. This marked the conclusion of the Three Kingdoms period. From that point the Korean peninsula was controlled by the Goryeo Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Goguryeo Baekje Silla slowly grew into powerful states on the peninsula as well as in Manchuria.