Ansan

Most Serene Republic of Baekjeong
Flag
Capital	Sangang
Largest city	Ogbei
Official languages	Baean
Recognised regional languages	Bumite language Vijayan language
Demonym(s)	Baean
Government
• Seonggol	Lee Seo-yeon
• Jinggol	Park Young Chul
Legislature	Mulrim Senate
Population
• 2018 estimate	80,348,293
• 2016 census	78,238,193
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$2.002 trillion
• Per capita	$24,928
Currency	Baean Mul (M) (BJM)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+69
ISO 3166 code	BJ
Internet TLD	.bj

Baekjeong, officially the Most Serene Republic of Baekjeong and often incorrectly referred to as Sangte, is a country located in Southwestern Coius, bordered by Xiaodong to the south, Tusing to the east, Ajahadya to the northeast, Subarna to the north, and the Bay of Bashurat to the west. Most of the country is located within the Geodaehan Basin. The de jure capital and religious center is Sangang while de facto capital and largest city is Ogbei. Over a third of the population lives in the Ogbei-Jinju-Gyeoljeong Metropolitan Region, one of the largest metropolitan regions in the world.

The Geodaehan Basin was first inhabited as early as the Early Paleolithic Era by migrants from the Proto-Southern Bashurat Valley Civilization to the north. The first centralized state in the region was noted by Xiaoan records in the early 8th century BCE. The Geodaehan Basin was first unified by the Sujanra Dynasaty of the Vayan Empire. The Vayan Empires, based on the Dansa River north of Geodaehan, originated near the modern city of Nolang. From the Sujarna Dynasty(c. 500BCE) to the collapse Pasupo Dynasty(c. 100BCE), most of the Geodaehan Basin was dominated by the Vayan Empire.

Following the collapse of the Vayan Empire, various kingdoms and city-states arose and collapsed in quick succession. The Kingdom of Eunyeon in the west of the basin expanded towards the coast, eventually conquering much of modern day Baekjeong's coastline. The Kingdom grew rich off of trade in the Bashurat, connecting the previous insular Geodaehan to the Bashurat trade network.

The modern state of Baekjeong traces itself to the Ansan City States Era (c. 400CE to 917CE). Several key institutions and cultural innovations central to Baekjeong developed during this era. The state religion of Cheongung arose during this time, combining elements of Baean folk religions, Ifranism, and Satyism.

The Ansan City-state of Sangang rose to prominence at the dawn of the 10th Century CE. Sangang was, and is, the center of the Cheongung religion and is the seat of the head of the faith, the Seonggol. The political leader of Sangang at this time, Jinggol Park Cheon Rhee arranged an alliance with the Seonggol, embarking on a unification campaign through Geodaehan and into the surrounding regions. The Park and Lee Dynasties would jointly rule the Ansan Empire until the arrival of Gaullican Imperialists in the 19th Century CE. After the Gukdong Revolution of 1564 CE, political control of the state devolved to local feudal lords, with only religious power being held by Sangang.

The arrival of the Gaullicans in the 19th Century CE led to the rapid collapse of Ansan as a cohesive entity. The Gaullicans initially seized several ports from Eunyeon and Aiboli Gukdongs. By the second half of the century, all but Sangang itself and a few small feudal lands in the eastern ranges remained independent. For a century the region was ruled under the Gaullican Sangte. Local nobles largely retained their powers but heavy taxes were imposed and cultural imperialism by the Gaullicans was encouraged.

During the Great War, forces loyal to Sangang fomented rebellions in much of the country. Cheongung radicals and Baean Peasant and Socialist rebellions broke out in the final year of the war. Much of these local rebellions, having been covertly funded and stoked by Sangang, declared loyalty to the Seonggol. This led to the Baean Civil War, in which Sangang and Sangang-aligned religious and socialist factions under the Seonggol fought the remnants of the Gaullican colonial state largely under the authority of the Gukdongs. The Seonggol won the war and reasserted political authority over the new state of Baekjeong that had not been seen since the 16th Century CE.

Baekjeong is a moderately developed country and has one of Coius' highest GDP per capita. Baekjeong's citizens enjoy considerably more civil freedoms than the Coian norm, but only average political freedoms. Baekjeong is a major entrepot between ROSPO and COMSED nations.

Etymology

The name Baekjeong derives from the word for Baeans' ancestral homeland, Baeke, and the Baean word for harmony, Jeonge. The term Baekjeong roughly translates to Ancestral Harmony.

History

Modern Baekjeong

Righteous Revolutions

Following the Second Sakata Incident, Xiaodong and Gaullica were poised for war with Estmere and Gaullica. General Jules Boucher, Commandant of the Gaullican forces stationed in Sangte, ordered a General Mobilization of both Gaullican and local Colonial forces.

Under the 1894 Treaty System, Gukdongs which received funding from the Gaullican Crown were obligated to raise their own troops to support the war effort. By law these soldiers were to be trained, equipped, and paid by the Gukdong they owed fealty to. The General Mobilization at the end of 1926 was the first time that all Gukdongs had been ordered to provide troops. Many of the north and eastern Gukdongs had seen their populations diminish following the 1924 Drought and Famine. The 1894 Treaty made no provisions for changes in population and thus these Gukdongs were burdened with a disproportionate recruitment quota. At the same time, unemployment and the famine had ruined the economy of Sangte as a whole. No Gukdong had the means to equip, pay, and deploy their quota of troops, let alone to other nations.

Politics

In general, someone of Vijayan descent is a rank below a Baean peer and a rank above a Bumite peer. Marriage is freely allowed within your own Mulrim and with someone who is within one Gol of you. So someone who is a 9th Gol Yangrim can marry an 8th Gol Sarim. Gol both determines which jobs you can have and also can be a reward for obtaining a high position. A commoner who serves meritoriously in the tax offices may see themselves raised to the gentry as a reward. Likewise, a noble who offers valuable advice may see their Gol rise from 8th to 7th or even 6th. Generally speaking, Cheonrim and Yangrim have the greatest degree of social mobility and often freely flow between the two Mulrim.

Governance

The legislature is a tricameral body from each of the three top Mulrim called the Senate. The lower classes are not represented. The Seonggol appoints the Speaker of the Mulrim to head each of the legislature bodies, appointed from among each bodys’ ranks. The Speaker of the Cheonrim, and the Cheonrim Assembly, have the most powers, including purse. The Cheonrim are divided along labor lines, into powerful Farmer’s Granges, Automotive Unions, Teacher’s Unions, etc etc. The Sarim Council, composed of all Sarim, no longer has the power to block legislation or overturn the other bodies decisions. Rather they can delay and recommend and serve as the Jinggol’s advisors. The Yangrim Diet has the power to appoint the heads of each ministry and the ultimate right to conduct foreign affairs and war. Prior to Mediatisation, the country was a patchwork of free cities and fiefs. Fief size limits were placed on nobles, with lands over the limit seized and converted into provinces. Roughly three quarters of the land and eighty percent of the population resides in provinces. These are run by Councils drawn evenly between the two middle Mulrim, headed by the Jinggol’s Governor. On their own fiefs, nobles have quite a bit of power, albeit constrained by the constitution. Since the lower Mulrim are free to move as they please, nobles who abuse their powers often face destitution. The most common method to avoid upsetting the lower Mulrim is to create advisory councils so that their input may be felt.

Military

Generally 2-3% of the GDP is spent on the military. Nobles are barred from having their own units. The army is the largest and most focused on branch. It’s somewhat light on armor, when compared to its Coian compatriots, due to the nature of Baekjeong’s geography. The army also makes heavy use of helicopters for airlift and ground attack. The air force is designed entirely for COIN and air defense. It is not expected that the air force will engage in offensive actions against other powers, but rather contest Baekjeong’s own skies. To that extent, there are no bombers in the nation’s inventory. Instead it is primarily interceptors and air superiority fighters, supported by a few multirole fighters and even fewer ground attack craft. The navy is mostly a green water affair. It has various types of destroyers, submarines, and two amphibious assault vessels. The government has been encouraging the development of domestic military industry, as well as encouraging foreign nations to license manufacture in Baekjeong. Many of the more high tech equipment must still be purchased from foreign nations.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Baekjeong

Ethnicity

Ethnic Demographics of Baekjeong

  Baean (79%)

  Hayan (1%)

  Bumite (7%)

  Vijayan (8%)

  Galsaen (5%)

Religion

Main articles: Cheongung and Satyism

Religious Demographics of Baekjeong

  Cheongung (95.5%)

  Sotiranity (4%)

  Atudism (0.5%)