Difference between revisions of "Koryan"

Revision as of 17:36, 10 February 2006

Koryan

Flag of Koryan
Motto: "Guns don't kill people, Koryans with nukes kill people."
Here
Region	Atheist Empire
Capital	Korya
Official Language(s)	English/Spanish
Leader	Lord Ryu McKnight
Population	210 Million+
Currency	Gold Coins
NS Sunset XML

History

Harsh Beginnings

The modern nation of Koryan actually began as three main nomadic tribes. The largest of these three were the Koryans who lived in a vast desert and survived only by raiding and occasional farming. Gradually stronger, more hostile tribes moved into the region and after years of bloody conflict, the Koryans left their desert homeland. They gradually settled down in the Dresnvai Valley, home to the second largest of the Koryan tribes, the Dresnvai. Almost the exact opposite of the Koryans, the Dresnvai were a peaceful, farming people, hidden away in their tiny, steep valley. The Koryans at first raided and warred with the Dresnvai but gradually matters settled down between the two and the Dresnvai taught the Koryans the arts of farming and herding. Finally all seemed well for the Koryans and for over 60 years they lived peacefully in the valley, the two cultures gradually merging.

The Firlamei

As Koryan culture developed and they traded in their weapons for written language, darkness loomed on the horizon. It was the Firlamei, the third and deadliest of the main Koryan tribes. The Firlamei were powerful warriors from a jungle island who had begun island hopping, exhausting the resources of one island before moving on to the next. Tired of fighting small island tribes, they had come inland to raid and conquer to their heart's content. The Koryans had become peaceful people, using weapons only for fighting off predators and bandits. When the Firlamei converged on their valley, the Koryans seemed doomed. After nearly a week of fighting, the Koryans were saved by an early winter. A blizzard forced the shelter less Firlamei from the valley and into the shelter of nearby woodlands.

The next spring, the Koryans rallied their men and able women and children and began training an army. Although most of the training was self-taught, it proved effective when the Firlamei returned that summer to finish off the farming tribe. For years the fighting raged, everything from one-on-one skirmishes to hundred-man armies clashing. Ironically, it wasn't the fighting that ended the war, but the children. During all the commotion, Koryans and Firlamei women had been raped repeated times, creating a whole generation of hybrids. Shunned by both sides, these children grew up with only a few adults but even before reaching maturity, they became diplomats and arranged peace between the two people, ending the 4-year conflict. Once again, the Koryans merged with their new ally to form the modern Koryan people and culture.

The Struggle for Unity

As the Koryan civilization expanded from their safe little valley, they began founding new villages and conquering smaller agricultural tribes. Gradually nearly 100 villages dotted the Koryan territory but when it came to keeping them together, the task was difficult. Many wanted the Koryan capitol to be the growing city of Korya, nestled in their home valley and boasting the largest population of all Koryan villages. However, many up-and-coming villages challenged Korya's authority and created their own laws and leaders. Practically Koryan's feudal age, city-states arose and collapsed across the Koryan territory, exhausting the farmlands and natural resources of the area. To supply their wars against each other, the city-states began expanding into foreign lands and soon Koryan territory had doubled. Yet still the question of uniting the cities was at hand.

It was Emperor Augustine, founder of the Koryan Empire, who ultimately paved the way for unity. From his hometown of Korya, Augustine used a new tactic for conquest - diplomacy and bribes. Abusing Korya's great economy and trade, Augustine convinced a large amount of villages to swear loyalty to his empire. From there, he built a stable government and regulated militia. Gather his army, he marched against the strongest of his rival city-states and achieved nearly impossible victories. Just as he expected, seeing the strength of his empire, the many weaker city-states and their villages swore loyalty to the empire peacefully and by the time of his assassination, over 90% of modern Koryan was under imperial control.

Formation of Modern Koryan

After Emperor Augustine's assassination, his top generals each took control of part of the military and waged war for the throne. Civil war erupted and it seemed as if all of Augustine's work would be in vain. Yet it was Ace McKnight, leading the People's Army, who defeated the power-hungry generals and took the throne. He introduced a parliament to the government and the ability to peacefully remove a lord through impeachment. His revolutionary ideas seemed to many as anarchy yet the nation grew under this new freedom and peace. The empire was dismantled to form the Republic of Koryan and for the first time, relations with other kingdoms began. It also revealed the technology of the world. Technology such as the steam engine and electricity transformed the nation and soon its economy was able to compete with other kingdoms. The modern Koryan was born.

The People

Koryans

Koryans are tall, medium complected people, usually with black or brown hair and brown eyes. Due to required military enlistment, fitness requirements, and nutritional programs, most Koryans are strong, healthy individuals allowing for quick draft training incase of war. Women are generally shorter by males, with the average man standing at 6'-6'2 while the average woman stands at 5'9"-5'11". Due to strict education requirements for all ages and races, almost all Koryans are sensible and intelligent, with immigrants and other such "less-educated" individuals looked down upon. Middle class citizens dominate the economy, with around 15% lower class and around 10% upper class. The average family has 2 children and by law, a maximum of 4 children are allowed per family. Due to the absence of almost all welfare (except for temporary injuries) unemployment rates are under 5% almost always although this does cause issues during warfare. The government has taken a tough stance against the severely disabled and mentally impaired, stating, "If you can't pull your own weight, you don't live in this nation".

Religion

Koryan almost entirely lacks religion. In recent surveys, over 80% of the population was atheist, just under 10% non-religious, and the remaining 10% divided mostly among Christianity and Judaism. Only 21 official churches/temples are located in the entire country and due to government regulations, are supported entirely by the donations of members of those churches. In it's 5-year report, the government predicted that within the next 30 years, atheism and non-believers will account for over 95% of the population.

Education

Koryan has a different educational system than most other countries. First of all, there are only 4 different types of schools with 3 grades each. Youth School and Intermediate School are required by all to attend and then citizens may either take their Advanced Placement Test and skip ahead to college or go to Advanced School and then college. Those who take the APT are required to take at least 1 entire year of college while those who attend Advanced School aren't required to take any college, although most jobs require it. Koryan College is much cheaper and attracts many foreign students because of its openness and low cost. First of all, it's more like a job, where you may choose what time you take your classes and there isn't homework, although you must past an exam once a month or you must repeat the class. School is year-round, although there are many vacations and school is strictly from 8am to 3pm. The average Koryan citizen graduates all 3 main schools and 2 to 3 years of college.

Government

Lords or No?

Since the dismantling of the empire to form the Republic of Koryan, lords have been steadily losing power and now many people want to get rid of lords for good. Currently lords are elected by the people and every 10 years a vote is held that requires that 60% of the population approve the lord's actions or a new election is held. Lords have also lost almost all law-making power. Parliament controls most of the nation's law making, although over half of all laws are created and enforced by city governments. The lord receives one vote per issue, which equals the power of 3 senators (there is one senator for each of the 7 provinces), bringing the total parliament votes to 10. Lords may also propose laws to parliament and veto each issue once, although parliament can repeal the veto. Lords and senators are charged for breaking laws just like any other citizen and automatically lose office for committing a felony.

Elections and Political Parties

Political Parties: (Listed by popularity from most to least) Blue Party - Small Government, Liberal Red Party - Large Government, Liberal Green Party - Small Government, Conservative Yellow Party - Large Government, Conservative

Elections for senators are held every 5 years, in which each province gets to elect it's own senator. There are four political parties for senators, although the Blue and Red Party dominate every election (green party wins one senator occasionally, yellow has only had 1 senator elected ever). All Koryan citizens, regardless of race, sex, religion, etc., may run for senator as long as they are 25-years old, have served 2 years in any military branch during peacetime or 1 year during wartime, and have taken at least 2 years of college. For lord, anyone can run but requirements are stricter. You must have 10 years of peacetime or 5 years of wartime military service, must be 30-year-old, 3 years of law school, 3 years of politic school, and 1 full term as a senator. Lords may serve until death but must have 60% of the population's approval or another election is held. Last but not least, local governments have their own set of rules and elections, although 5 of the 7 provinces simply have a representative and hold a law-making election every 5 years.

Relations

Although the Republic of Koryan often keeps to itself, it sometimes looks beyond it's borders for allies and trading partners. The current foreign relations are:

Nizhny Union of Socialist Soviet Republics: Peace -Ambassadors: Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov (NUSSR)/Nicholas Tresve (Koryan)

Military

Army

The Koryan Army makes up about 50% of the nation's military and includes all infantry, armored, and artillery divisions. Over the past 20 years, Koryan’s military has almost doubled in size with the growing number of revolts and violent protests. Despite its large size, the army is mostly only used for simply tasks, such as riot control, putting down revolts, and other small activities (Koryan uses it’s army instead of a SWAT team). By law, all males must serve 1 year in any branch of the military and most choose the army due to it’s simplicity and only 5-months of training.

Navy

Having only one coastline and lack of enemies with strong navies, the Koryan Navy is the most neglected branch of the military, with only 15% of the military’s recruits and the lowest budget, which is mostly used just trying to keep the 20-year-old fleet as up-to-date as possible. Not helping is the nation’s prejudice against the navy, calling navy recruits “cowards” since the Koryan Navy has only actually fought in two wars and only played minor roles in both.

Air Force

The pride and joy of the Koryan military, the nation’s air force is almost unmatched in all aspects, including technology, spending, and recruits. Over ¾ of the military budget goes to the air force and, with it’s military budget making up a large chunk of the government’s spending, that provides plenty of cash for pilot training, fuel, and research. Sporting the most up-to-date technology and highly trained pilots, Koryan jets are one of the best in the air, losing an estimated 1 pilot per 15 enemy pilots. Air force pilots must undergo 2 years of hard training and 3 years of piloting school before they can even earn their wings. In exchange, they are the highest-paid soldiers of the Koryan military and veteran pilots usually have plenty of cash to burn after wars.

Economy

Industries

Koryan's major industry, and most controversial, is it’s Uranium Mining. Koryan’s mountainous southern and northern borders are rich with ores of all types giving rise to a large mining sector in both areas. Uranium is mined and sold for everything from bombs to reactors and it’s open sale of the ore to other countries has many nations, and Koryan’s own people, concerned that Koryan is just increasing the threat of nuclear war in the area. Other major industries, although no competition for mining, are woodchip and lumber industries from the forests of the east coast and western border, and the always controversial but very wealthy gambling industry, which has been almost completely taken over by the government.

Expenses

Koryan has run into serious issues lately with its overload on imports. Although tariffs and other government regulations have been put into effect, foreign companies are overwhelming Koryan companies, increasing the government’s lean towards communism. The country currently loses over $10 trillion a year just to foreign companies and imports. Not only that, but increasing immigration have forced nearly 10% of citizens into unemployment and has increased poverty rates greatly.

Federal Budget

With nearly 50% income tax and over $250 trillion in exports, Koryan's government has a large budget yet it always seems to disappear quickly. Over 40% of the federal budget goes to the military and defense systems on which Koryan prides itself. Nearly 25% goes to Law & Order, which is combating increasing crime rates, especially in the major cities. Administration and education each control around 10% of the budget while other issues, such as healthcare and welfare struggle for any federal money.

Geography

Koryan is full of different terrains and elevations, from the low river valleys of Korya to the cloud-piercing mountains of the north and south. The most common terrain is the rolling farmlands of central Koryan, which make up over 60% of the nation. With fertile farmland just above sea level and an abundant source of rain and sun, Koryan farmers prosper in this agricultural paradise. To the west is a strip of steadily disappearing forest marking Koryan's western border. Here, battle between natural-lovers and the woodchip and lumber companies is fought nearly every day in an issue the government has chose to stay out of.

Ironically, it's the inhospitable swamp-filled eastern coast, which house over half of Koryan's population. In fact, two of Koryan's four largest cities sit in drained swamps. The over-populated city of Kyojin is witness to the problems of this, facing terrible storms and floods every year. The city of Cidade, just north of Kyojin, sits in one of the lowest points on the east coast, over 60 feet below sea level. A series of man-made ridges and levies are all that protect Cidade from the watery disaster it met a decade ago as a fierce storm put the massive city under almost 30 feet of water and killed thousands.

Marking Koryan's southern border is a mix of plateaus and canyons surrounded by mountains. Thanks to the surrounding mountains, this canyon region receives little precipitation year-round and is mostly only used for weapons testing. Similarly, towering, steep mountains mark Koryan's northern border as well, yet these mountains receive an abundance of precipitation and are covered in snow all year long. Home to ski-resorts and numerous tourist attractions, these mountains' bases are covered in small cities, which have to be frequently rebuilt due to avalanches.

Koryan's northeast peninsula is a very mountainous region filled with streams, rivers, and lakes. The Utatrakt peninsula, extending from the northeast peninsula, is a plateau that extends 150 feet above sea level and connected to the mainland only by a narrow strip of land. It is home to Koryan's third largest city in which the peninsula is named after. Uktrakt, known as the "Raining City of Giants", is home to the most skyscrapers in Koryan and is also holds the record for the most precipitation in Koryan, averaging 50 inches of precipitation a year and holds the record at 81.5 inches in a single year (it rained 54 days straight during spring that year!). If not for the city sitting on a plateau, the rain would flood the city out every spring and fall. Uktrakt is also unique in that there are no springs or natural rivers on the entire plateau. All city water is collected from precipitation and purified and even with a growing population that passed the 14 million mark last year, there is still plenty of water to go around, although a salt-water treatment plant is being constructed currently.

The most unique feature of Koryan is its winding river valley that starts on the east coast and penetrates all the way into the central plains where the capital city of Korya rests at the valley's end. Throughout the entire valley, springs supply a large, freshwater river that pours into the ocean at the valley's end. The river valley is also home to the largest network of caves in Koryan, in which a single network has shown to lead from the capital city all the way to the ocean and branches off into over 2,500 caves. One such network has been transformed to a winding tram network that stretches from Korya to Cidade and another has been transformed into Korya's sewer system. The only major natural disaster the valley has to worry about is snow, which can block off entire sections of the valley in some areas and cause devastating avalanches. The valley is home to over 50 cities and towns and is home to nearly 1/5 of the nation's population.