Kāichrén

Kāichrén

Total population
57,560,000 (2032, est.)
Regions with significant populations
Neo-Korea c. 43,000,000
Meridon	c. 9,400,000
Anagonia	tba
Aureumterra	c. 5,000,000
Paimiru	tba
Languages
Kāichrén-Gengo, Kaizuei
Religion
Kāichrén Folk Religion
Related ethnic groups
other East Hiakemirian ethnic groups

Kāichrén (also rendered as Kaichren) are an East Hiakemirian ethnic grouping native to the Nán Yánshēn. The Kāichrén would descend from the same nomadic population group which would form the Jien ethnic group linked to Jungg'o and Jin Yi, with the two ethnic groupings separating over time as the settlement of both areas occurred. Ethnic Kāichrén primarily live in Neo-Korea, but there is a notable diaspora population owing to large emigration which has occurred in the fairly recent past, most especially during the Korean Civil War. An approximate 14.56 million individuals are believed to be a part of the diaspora population, while 43 million individuals of the Kāichrén ethnic grouping live in Neo-Korea according to modern censuses. Sizable diaspora communities are notably present in Aureumterra, Meridon, and Anagonia.

Etymology

The Kāichrén were named for the Jien name for the statelets which originated on the Nán Yánshēn, which they would generally qualify as subordinate members of a hypothetical "Kaesong" dynasty under their conception of the world surrounding them, and their potential position under the greater Jungg'o state. This name would stick past the period of Jien hegemony in the region, owing to the period of Jien colonization in the region, owing to adoption of the term by the population during the occupation by the Jien. It would endure throughout multiple colonial periods, and be incorporated into the Hiakemirian Constructed Language once it was created by the Kaesong State.

Origins

The Kāichrén and Jien ethnic groupings are believed to originate from a shared nomadic group, who would settle Jungg'o and the Nán Yánshēn across 4,000 to 2,000 BCE, with migration to the Yanshen occuring in times of want within what would become Jungg'o. The origin of these nomadic peoples is not known, but their point of origin is believed to have been either around the area of modern-day Atkemri, or around the area of Jungg'o and the Yanshen itself. Archaeological evidence has generally tended to reaffirm the theory of originating from the Jungg'o-Yanshen area, owing to pottery found there with no direct equivalent in Atkemri.

Migration across the region is believed to have displaced or assimilated an original cultural grouping on the peninsula, owing to differing pottery styles from the Northern / Pre-Jungg'o style found in the most ancient of remaining cultural sites. It is believed that this migration primarily followed rivers, eventually reaching the bottom of the Peninsula at some point in the late 3,600 BCE period. This period of expansion's end can be traced to the establishment of a "bronze dagger" culture, and the gradually increasing number of tomb-type structures being constructed.

Genetics

The Kāichrén and Jien ethnic groupings show a close genetic relationship, with similar results for ethnic groupings from Southern Atkemri and Janpians. They share surprisingly little similarity with the Matsumese ethnic grouping to the immediate south, leading to theorization that said grouping may have been the displaced cultural grouping previously present on the Peninsula.

Culture

See Main Articles: Kāichrén Culture, Kāichrén Dolls and Kāichrén Cuisine

Kāichrén cultural trends share many traits with Jien cultural trends, owing to closeness and long-term shared interaction between the two. A notable difference is the continuing presence of minor, religiously-inspired though-not-overtly-correlating-to-any-religion directly practices and lifestyle characteristics notable in daily life. These are believed to have been traits of early Kāichrén Folk Religion practitioners whose suppression during the colonization period caused these traits to pass into the general population (owing to restrictions on sharing such rituals being lifted). Neo-Korea as a state has (after the ascension of Beom Dae to power) encouraged the production of media reviving and reviewing certain traditional concepts in a more positive light than the previous Hikaru Sakuma government.

Language

The primary language utilized amongst Kāichrén populations in the modern era is the Hiakemirian Constructed Language, with Kāichrén-Gengo as a tongue being near extinct in Neo-Korea itself, although it is still present in long-term diaspora communities, such as those which left during the KDS Revolution which overthrew The State of Kaesong. Kāichrén-Buntai as a commonly utilized writing style is functionally extinct on mainland Neo-Korea, with the vast majority choosing to use the more common Hiakemiria-Buntai. The loss of native linguistic traits can be traced back to a long-term policy of post-independence states of encouraging both writing and literacy programs to exclusively utilize the HCL, and the official support of HCL as the official language of government. Linguistic and verbal revivalist movements have been formed in the modern era, but have not been particularly successful in Neo-Korea.

Demographics

Large-scale emigration of the Kāichrén has been a noted historical trend in times of domestic struggle, additionally spreading widely across the world as a result of transit and trade within the colonial sphere of Marquesan, alongside the post-Great War diaspora escaping the struggle in the region. The Kāichrén population has reached 43 million individuals in post-civil war Neo-Korea, with a maintained positive birth rate since that point.