Annam
Annam 안암 | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: God Save the Queen | |
| Status | British Overseas Territory |
| Capital | Masan |
| Official languages | English, Korean |
| Demonym(s) | Annamese |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy |
• Monarch | Elizabeth II |
• Governor | Penelope Tudor |
• Chief Secretary | Noh Jung-min |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| House of Commons | |
| Establishment | |
• British occupation | 1845 |
• Imperial Japanese military occupation | 1940 to 1945 |
• Annam Act | 1996 |
| Area | |
• | 822 km2 (317 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 6,254,200 (109th) |
• Density | 7,609/km2 (19,707.2/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $410,444,000,000 (45th) |
• Per capita | $65,627 (9th) |
| Currency | Annam Pound (AMP) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 |
| Date format |
|
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +641 |
| Internet TLD | .am |
Annam (Hangul: 안암) is a city-state and British Overseas Territory in the Korean Peninsula. It is located on the Ongjin Peninsula, and shares a land border with North Korea. As a British Overseas Territory, Annam has internal self-government, and the United Kingdom is responsible for its foreign affairs and defence.
In 1841, British East India Company officer Sir Robert Boucher established a trading port in the area of present Masan after purchasing the land from the Joseon court. In 1860, the territory, now a Crown colony named Annam and a flourishing trading port, expanded to cover the entire Ongjin Peninsula. Annam remained under British control during Japanese occupation of Korea, until 1940. Annam returned to British control following the Second World War, but was briefly occupied by the North Korean military for several months in 1950 during the Korean War, before returning once again to British sovereignty. Due to the ongoing Korean conflict and Annam's precarious location in the midst of that conflict, Annam has anomalously remained a British Overseas Territory since 1950, although political reforms in the 1990s have granted the territory substantial democratic self-government.
Annam has been a leading regional commercial port since the 19th Century, and remains today one of the world's leading financial centres and global cities with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. It is one of the so-called Asian Tiger economies, experiencing rapid growth and industrialisation in the second half of the 20th Century. The majority of Annam's population and workforce are ethnic Koreans, many of whom migrated from South Korea in the 20th Century, but there are also a substantial number of non-Korean workers and residents in Annam, particularly Japanese and Chinese, as well as a significant minority of British and Commonwealth expats.
Although essentially a British colony whose defence and foreign affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom, Annam has enjoyed internal democratic self-government since the political reforms of the 1990s that culminated in the passage of the Annam Act by the British Parliament in 1996. While the Governors of Annam continue to be appointed by the British government, Westminster parliamentary government now prevails in Annam. The current Governor of Annam is Penelope Tudor and the Chief Secretary of Annam since 2014 has been Noh Jung-min.