Haeseo Special Self-Governing Authority

Haeseo Special Self-Governing Authority 해서특별자치국
Logo
Capital and largest city	Haegyeong
Official languages	Korean
Recognised national languages	Korean, English
Ethnic groups (2023)	Koreans (75%) Singi-ins (13%) Others (12%)
Demonym(s)	Korean(s), Joseonite(s)
Government	Self-Governing Authority
• Governor	Han Jisoo
• Deputy Governor	Amit Rogers
Legislature	Self-Governing Council
Establishment
• Construction completed of the Haedo settlement	1656
• Establishment of Haeseo Province	1901
• Establishment of Haeseo Special Self-Governing Authority	1969
Population
• 2023 estimate	57,000,000
• 2023 census	57,761,708
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	8,800,227,260,632 $
• Per capita	152,354 $
HDI (2023)	0.954 very high
Currency	Won
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+82
ISO 3166 code	KR
Internet TLD	.kr

Haeseo(Haeseo Special Self-Governing Authority, natively-해서특별자치국) is a self-governing province of Joseon, located in the Levanora Vastness, a transitory region of the world. Its borders Katuffiat Federation with the sea in between to the north.

Haeseo began to be pioneered by Joseon King Lee Ho's overseas territorial development plan in the 17th century. During the following 18th and 19th centuries, Haeseo continued to expand, and by the second half of the 20th century, today's borders were completed.

Haeseo was built as Joseon's first offshore autonomous territory and the first base in Levanora. Based on the diverse biodiversity of the area where Haeseo is located and its rapid economic growth through abundant underground and fish stocks, and these factors, today Haeseo has the wealthiest economic power among Joseon's overseas autonomous territories. It is also the wealthiest of Joseon's regions, with a per capita GDP of Haeseo higher than that of the mainland of Joseon.

Haeseo is a key base that plays an important role in Joseon's economy and military, and has an important influence on Joseon's geopolitical policy.

History

In 1654, King Lee Ho of Joseon ordered an expedition to the island region of Levanora as part of a plan to improve national power against the Qing dynasty. Levanora was a very unfamiliar land at the time, and exploring and pioneering it was considered a big adventure. However, reformist officials, who helped Lee Ho to control the government at the time, actively supported the plan. In 1655, Joseon's first expedition arrived in Levanora, and the construction of the first settlement, Haedo, was completed in 1656.

In 1657, the settlers of Haedo first encountered the 'Singi-in', an indigenous people who closely resembled humanity. The first encounter ended with no conflict between the two sides, but over the next nearly 200 years, Joseon settlers and the Singi-ins encountered hundreds of clashes, large and small. Joseon officials studied and observed the Singi-ins, and as a result, they were able to obtain substantial data on the Singi-ins. These data contributed to Joseon's future relationship with the Singi-ins. Until the industrialization of Joseon began in 1789, the technological gap between Joseon and the Singi-ins was not large. Joseon had an advantage over the Singi-ins for having gunpowder weapons, but the gap between the two sides in other technical aspects was only decades apart.

When Joseon's industrialization began in 1789, the technological gap between Joseon and the Singi-ins began to widen. Joseon pushed out the Singi-ins countries that challenged Joseon based on their overwhelming technological superiority and expanded settlements. While this process of expansion has contributed significantly to the formation of today's Haeseo, there is controversy that it violated the rights and will of Singi-ins.

By the 19th and early 20th centuries, the settlements of Haedo were greatly expanded and formed a huge province. In 1901, the Joseon Imperial Government established Haeseo Province, which united the settlements of Haedo, and proclaimed the first settlement city of Haedo as Haegyeong.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, Haeseeo served as an important military stronghold for Joseon. The Joseon naval fleet stationed in Haeseo contributed to the complete cutoff of the Japanese navy's attempt to block the Korean Peninsula, and played a central role in the Allied force's blockade of the Japanese archipelago.

In the second half of the 20th century, as the Protests of 1968 spread throughout Joseon, improving human rights within Joseon and guaranteeing the autonomy of overseas territories emerged as major issues. In response, then-Prime Minister Kim Dae-Jun declared Joseon's overseas territories as special self-governing authority and began to guarantee wider autonomy than before. As a result, in 1969, Haeseo began to be guaranteed autonomy as a special self-governing authority. Citizenship was also granted to Singi-ins within Haeseo from this time on.

Geography

Biodiversity

In Haeseo, there is a mixture of creatures that have migrated from the mainland of Joseon and existing indigenous species. Regarding the biomes of Heaseo, academia and experts explain that this is because the Park Jung-Chul administration's Haeseo development plan did not consider protecting indigenous biomes. Since 1966, at least 90 species of indigenous species have been reported to have disappeared or gone extinct in Haeseo.

Since 1990, the Joseon government has established environmental regulations and enacted laws to limit the habitats of livestock from the mainland of Joseon to prevent ecosystem destruction and the extinction of indigenous species in Haeseo. As a result, the indigenous species population in Haeseo has increased dramatically to 150 percent as of 2023 compared to before 1990.

Currently, Haeseo coexists with species introduced from the mainland of Joseon and indigenous species living in the wild. Among the indigenous species, some species are kept as pets, such as Nal-Myo, and species that are raised as livestock, such as Hornfalo.

Politics

Haeseo's politics are led by the Self-Governing Authority, which serves as the executive branch, and the Self-Governing Council, which serves as the Congress, and the Haeseo Settlement Supervision Bureau. The governor and the council are elected through direct elections by the residents. The terms of the governor and the council are four years, and unlike the prime minister of Joseon, Haeseo's governor is elected in separate elections, not appointed by the council.

The personnel of the Haeseo Settlement Supervisory Bureau are appointed by the central government of Joseon. Haeseo Settlement Supervisory Bureau has the power to audit the Self-Government Authority and the Self-Government Council, and it has the power to ask the Supreme Court of Joseon to impeach both agencies. Haeseo Settlement Supervisory Bureau acts as a means for the central government of Joseon to effectively enforce policies in Haeseo. However, at the same time, it has been criticized for tarnishing the meaning of local autonomy by excessively shrinking the Self-Government Authority and Self-Government Council.

Haeseo, like other Special Self-Government Authority, can enact its own civil laws and ordinances, but the Constitution and Criminal Law must follow Joseon's.

Society

A view of Haegyeong Metropolitan City.

Haeseo's society is very similar to that of the mainland of Joseon. In Haeseo, it is believed that there is little overall discrimination, including discrimination between men and women. Since Singi-ins were granted citizenship in 1969, there has also been a sharp decline in discrimination between people from the mainland of Joseon and those from the Singi-ins. However, people from the Singi-ins are considered to be at a disadvantage compared to those from the mainland in terms of political advancement, etc. This is why implicit discrimination against people from the Singi-ins is considered to be the only remaining glass ceiling in the Joseon.

Haeseo's public security is very stable, and it is better compared to the mainland of Joseon, which is considered to be very stable in public security worldwide. Haeseo's crime rate is the lowest among the regions in Joseon, and the evaluation indicators related to public security are also very good. However, just like the mainland of Joseon, there is a controversy over privacy infringement due to the high CCTV ratio to the population in Haeseo.

Military

Main article: Haeseo National Guard

Haeseo relies on the Joseon Central Government for its military field. The Royal Joseon Armed Forces has dispatched 2 army corps to Haeseo for its ground defense, while the Naval fleets and the Air Force's Fighter Wings have also been dispatched to Haeseo for sea and air defense.

Haeseo has the Haeseo National Guard to reinforce its own counterterrorism and rapid response capabilities. The Haeseo National Guard consists of army, navy, and air force units, and the equipment that using by the Haeseo National Guard is either using by the Royal Joseon Armed Forces or retired from the Royal Joseon Armed Forces. However, some units are known to have significantly advanced military equipment.

Foreign Relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Joseon

Haeseo does not have its own diplomatic authority. Diplomatic authority is the power of the central government, and Haeseo's diplomacy takes place at the consulates of each country and the dispatching offices of Joseon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.