Beom Dae
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Beom Dae | |
|---|---|
Image of Beom Dae as Paramount Leader, circa 2020 | |
| Paramount Leader | |
| Assumed office March 12th, 1995 | |
| Deputy | Imai Amaya |
| Preceded by | Hikaru Sakmua |
| Minister of Cultural Affairs | |
| In office April 20th 1986 – 3rd January, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Pyoyter Nakiovich |
| Succeeded by | Okazaki Eiji |
| Head of the Koseitenkukai | |
| In office August 13th, 1965 – September 3rd, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Member of the Central Governing Council, Omiskan District, Third Seat | |
| In office January 1st, 1964 – 12th January, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Shiro Chiasa |
| Succeeded by | Kuba Miyuki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Shimada Beom May 10, 1938 (age 96, as of early 2034) Fuzan, Neo-Korea |
| Political party | National Development Party 1960-Present |
| Alma mater | Fuzan People's College (graduation circa 1966) |
| Awards | Order of the Recognition of Development of Pan-Hiakemirian Concepts (awarded circa 1986) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Neo-Korea |
| Branch/service | Neo-Korean Ground Forces |
| Years of service | 1995 - Present |
| Rank | Generalissimus |
Beom Dae (born May 10th, 1938, née Shinada Beom) is the Paramount Leader of Neo-Korea. Beom Dae has been the head of state of 39 years following the Third Emergency Party Congress which ended the period of Central Governing Council leadership over the state and re-established the until-then vacant role of Paramount Leader. Initially appointed as a compromise candidate between the influential Anzen and Keieikō factions of the Central Governing Council, he would assert himself as a leader following both the 1995 Economic Reforms and the Invasion of Jungg'o, which allowed him to centralize power into his leadership role and establish himself as the definite source of power within the state.
Beom has fulfilled a number of ministerial roles throughout the course of Neo-Korea's recent history, including being the Minister of Cultural Affairs, the Head of the Koseitenkukai, Deputy to the Paramount Leader, and a number of minor additional roles. Throughout his tenure of leadership he has realigned the state towards the belief of the general "right" of the National Development Party, aligning his policies variously with the Anzen and Keieikō while also incorporating certain aspects of Shakakukō policy, including the promotion of competition between factions in the electoral sphere, alongside continuing the efforts of Okuma Taro for international reconciliation with certain powers.
It is believed that many of Beom's personal traits are derived from personal trauma relating to the Atomic Bombing of Fuzan during the course of the Great War, with much of his career before being appointed as Minister of Culture being focused on providing aid to the city and working to reconstruct it. Beom has continued to promote Iminchebol investment in Fuzan into the modern era as well, especially in relation to Iminchebol focused on civilian industries.
Early Life
Beom would be born as Shimada Beom in Fuzan during the year of 1938, his family having lived in the city since the State of Kaesong's economic policies caused his grandfather to be forcibly relocated there. His family was minorly wealthy despite the hardship caused by the Great War, operating an Iminchebol-associated hotel in the city which saw patronage by figures of minor political import. Beom was notably isolated as a child, having a lacking connection with his cousins who also lived in Fuzan and being isolated amongst other youth of his age due to a perceived "coldness" in his interactions with others. This isolation was worsened due to his family leaving the city and joining the exodus to Omiskan in 1946, with Beom being unable to find new friends due to his aforementioned "coldness".
The relationship with his cousins would be permanently cut when they died in totality during the atomic bombing of Fuzan, with Beom entering the workforce at the age of 12, being one of many children conscripted into "voluntary labor battalions" during the last years of Ogata Katsu's regime. During this time he would take his first foray into ideological politics, joining the Pan-Hiakemirist debate group established by older members of the labor battalion. He remained ideologically uncommitted during the early years of the Kāichrén Civil War, but due to his father's alignment with the ideals of Hikaru Sakuma, he would become a technical citizen of the Provisional Directorate of the Yanshen.
Kāichrén Civil War
At the age of 16 Beom would become a member of the Directorate's "Youth Repair Groups", an attempt to reduce the drain on educated labor required for the repair of military and civilian vehicles by providing them with teams of youth workers to direct. During his time in the YRG he would become acquainted with Muraoka Shig, the two engaging in correspondence over letters following a series of debates on certain aspects of both repair and ideology. During this time, Beom generally considered himself to be on the left of the ideological spectrum of Pan-Hiakemirism, questioning many of the goals of the civil war in his private discussions with Muraoka. Despite these qualms, over time he would come to take some level of pride in the mechanical work itself, to the point that he discussed eventually trying to gain work as a designer for civilian projects which could include his newfound enjoyment of tinkering, with him also considering architectural work for a time.
Beom's mother would die in 1955, and his father in 1956 - with Beom not being aware of such until 1958 due to his work in the YRG and later a political development Cadre. Upon finding out that he had been too late to see even their funerals, he would rename himself in what he considered an act of separation form the family, taking the western-styled name of Beom Dae in emulation of Osamu Kyu-Bong.
The trajectory of his career would change significantly with the end of the YRG system in 1957 following the Directorate's victory over the Renikai, as there was no longer a severe pressure upon the state and therefore there was more time to attempt to build up civilian structures in occupied territories to prepare for the looming battle with the Hitotsutai. In service to this goal, Beom was sent alongside a cadre of other young technically-military figures with the goal to organize political representation in the region. The leader of Beom's cadre at this time, Shiro Chiasa, had a notable hostile relationship with Beom, this negative relationship leading Beom to seek to dethrone him in a political and social sense.
With this goal in mind, he would run against Chiasa in the 1964 Central Governing Council elections, achieving a surprising upset victory at the age of 26.
Political Career
CGC Member
Beom would be the youngest member of the CGC elected in 1964, his shocking victory against Chiasa in part being driven by his youth and the surprising speechmaking capacity Beom had. Throughout his long career as a member of the CGC, he would switch factional affiliation repeatedly, variously presenting himself as an independent, Seitei-ha member, Keieikō loyalist, or - in what was considered one of the most severe cases of opportunism in Kāichrén political history up to that point, joining the Kōshin for an exact period of 30 days before immediately leaving as soon as he was re-elected. Despite this factional flipping, his policies remained mostly consistent throughout his career until he became Paramount Leader, including the encouraging of State-Iminchebol collaboration, vaguely pacifistic foreign policy focused on establishing Neo-Korea as a notable neutral merchant power, an expansion of factional power over society, and - most radically at the time - attempted détente with Jungg'o. The latter was moreso born out of a distinct distaste towards Marquesan and Aureumterra and fear that they could exploit a conflict between the two states than any particular affinity towards Jungg'o, with him believing that it was a political inevitability that Jungg'o would eventually return to Kāichrén hands.
Beom's eccentricities at this point were allowed due to his unalloyed popularity amongst the majority of the population - with his efforts to assist Fuzan generating a cloud of popularity / trustworthiness around him that Beom utilized to enact greater forms of patronage towards Fuzan, including the shifting of Iminchebol contracts to favor construction in that region and political kickbacks for lower level officials in Fuzan. In exchange for Beom's support in these matters, he received both guaranteed support from Fuzan and the role of a defacto leader of the block of politicians elected from Fuzan.
Head of the Koseitenkukai
One of Beom's most notable roles during his time as a member of the CGC was his appointment to the Koseitenkukai in 1965. The Koseitenkuki, also known as the Kosekuki, was an political council and advisory grouped designed to find a solution to the post-KCW issue of a surplus of orphaned youth and the lack of societal safety nets for these groups. Beom's role as the head of such would be crucial in the eventual adoption of the Crèche system of communal child rearing which continues to exist in Neo-Korea, with Beom's own favoritism towards that specific method of child rearing believed to be derived from his belief that it would prevent social or interactive isolation.
The Crèche system would first be tested in Fuzan in the form of the Jintasentā, a multi-floor complex designed by modernist architects personally hired by Beom, where it would have generally positive impact on the status of child safety and education in the region, eventually leading to its mass introduction in other regions of the state. Beom would be the only head of the Kosekuki, as its goal was deemed accomplished and it was therefore abolished in 1973.
Minister of Culture
Beom would be appointed to the role of Minister of Culture in the last days of Hikaru Sakuma's period of state control, scant months before he was placed into a coma by the 1986 Hikaru Sakuma Assassination Attempt. He would retain this role throughout the entirety of the CGC Period. His primary actions in the context of the role were based on encouraging foreign tourism in Kaihima, especially in relation to the existing natural landmarks such possessed.
Efforts were also taken to investigate the potential of establishing an area on the mainland for economic and political tourism, although this was deemed nonviable with the fashion in which most cities had been constructed. Attempting to create a new city for the role was also rejected, with lacking space which would be easy to work with cited as the key reason. Lushun would eventually come to be in part because of Beom's irritation at the failure of the tourist-city concept.