https://evolutionkr.kr/ Evolution Korea The economic crisis that hit Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old system of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this required a change in the development model. In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx. 1. Evolution and Religion A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that this kind of materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and leads to their eventual loss of faith. Scientists across the globe expressed concerns when the STR campaign made headlines. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks. Some scientists are worried that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the world where the belief in the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim populations. South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religious group and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans a