Hwangchu

The Grand Kingdom of Hwangchu, known commonly as the Kingdom of Hwangchu or Hwangchu, is a country in North East Kesh on the Straits of Gweongjji leading to the Eurybian Sea. The country consists of a mainland as well as a number of islands, notably the island of Sangeon as well as many others. The Kingdom is bordered with the hostile Empire of Selengaria to it's south as well as the Eurybian Sea to the north and the Sakheda Bay to the east. The country consists of 281,400 square kilometres divided into 23 prefectures, 5 metropolitan areas and 3 independent prefectures. The country has a population of 48,247,812 according to the 2020 census of which nearly 1/5 live in the Ochae Metropolitan area.

The Kingdom of Hwangchu is a based on a  divided into the House of Lords and House of Deputies. The largest city of the country is Ochae with over 9 million in the city and a further 10 million in the metropolitan area. The capital itself is the city of Seulgwang, a major financial and shipping centre due to it's location on the straits into the Eurybian Sea. Other major cities include the metropolitan areas of Puljeon, Sanjeong and Gwangje as well as the Prefecture capitals of Osei and Changgwen.

The country has evolved through a series of annexations, colonisations and various other events would eventually culminate in the creation of the State of Hwangchu (1863-1927) under King Po Won-Shik in the 1860s after having deposed their colonial rulers. The State of Hwangchu was deposed in 1927 by General Im Kwang and the Army leading to the creation of the Republic of Hwangchu (1927-1983), a with the Kings as figureheads and which kept power through various coups and a brutal repressive state police force, the Daekson. The State of Hwangchu heavily regulated freedoms in the country but encouraged masses of foreign investment as well as heavily investing in it's port industries and creating a robust shipbuilding and global trading financial centre. The fast developing Hwangchu of the 1940s also created a state where being smart was the best trait a person could have, education becoming a core investment for the country seeking to monopolise on it's lack of natural resources.

This would eventually culminate in a class of people who became disenfranchised with the military dictatorship which would eventually culminate in the Yellow Riots, a nationwide riot against the government for their repressive nature and the lack of a proper democracy. This was taken advantage by General Tan Shin-Il and the Hwangji Marine Division, the State of Hwangchu being toppled by him and him creating the Kingdom of Hwangchu with the first elections being held in 1984 and Tan Sin-Il becoming the first Prime Minister of the country until 1996. The country quickly embraced democracy, having spend years under the yoke of the dictatorship leading to it becoming on of the most advanced democracies on Kesh by the 2010s with high levels of press freedom in the region.

The country is amongst the most advanced in East Kesh and hold highest life expectancy as well as a dense system of infrastructure including high speed rails and cities maglev trains. The country, however, is defined militarily with it's relationship with it's south neighbour Selengeria. Selengeria's aggression in the region and territorial disputes has led to Hwangchu investing heavilg in it's armed forces and consisting of a large modern army with a comparable reserve force. The country spends 4.2% of it's GDP on it's defence, notably on it's navy which it uses to protect the vital shipping lanes that Hwangchu relies on for it's foreign exports and imports as well as for allowing foreign vessels to pass through and enforce Hwangchu territorial claims on islands in the Sakheda Bay. Hwangchu is also known for it's rugby team, the Hwangchu National Rugby Team is world renown for it's aggressiveness and tactical acumen having won any trophies and being the dominant force on Kesh in the worldwide rugby scene as well as it's women's football team which is widely considered to be one of the most capable in the world.

Ancient Hwangchu
Hwangchu has been populated for over 340,00 years as indicated from various cave drawings found in the Yeungdae Mountains. The history of Hwangchu is largely thought to have begun around the 1st Century with the emergency of the Koryeong Dynasty. There is little information based on the Koreyong Dynasty as a result of a recorded burning of the Koryeong Palace which held much information pertaining to the Dynasty during the 7th Century. However, most historians are aware of the fact that the Dynasty was created under King Han Bul-Mae after having conquered neighbouring tribes and creating the first formalised kingdom in the region. The Koryeong Dynasty expanded during the 2nd Century from the northern coastline and occupied areas as far what is now the Gwangje Metropolitan Area. The Koryeong Dynasty came into conflict with the Yubaek Dynasty, a kingdom located over what is now part pf northern Selengeria and east Hwangchu, during this period. It wad during this period that Koryeong was defeated by Yubaek, the lands which once held the kingdom became fractured into multiple states that entered into a period of ceaseless war against one another. It was also during this period that various kingdoms also came into conflict with many other kingdoms from what is now Selengeria.

Four Dynasties period
By the 5th Century, the wars between the remnants of the Koreyong Dynasty had solidified into four-way conflict between the dynasties of Ohsae, Gwangje, Ghaesan and Faemi. The largest of these dynasties was the Gwangje Dynasty located over much of what is now part of north Selengeria and eastern Hwangju. The Kingdom was much more powerful than the others, ancient histories estimated that they had around 4 million soldiers but this has recently been disputed by more recent academics. The dynasty had also competed with many kingdoms to it's south and had accumulated much greater land and wealth than the other dynasties. This was largely a result of the golden age of the Gwangje Dynasty under King Gwangje Kyung, it was during this period that the Kingdom largely subdued that of it's neighbours Ghaesan and Ohsae through it's military power with stories of the King having beaten a force of 1.5 million men with only 100,000 soldiers becoming legend and is widely regarded as the greatest victory by any of the kings of this period. Ohsae, meanwhile, was a naval power and it's nautical prowess was well known amongst the Kingdoms. They were amongst the first to attempt to put iron on ships roof, a costly project that would eventually be cancelled after over 7 years of construction and effectively causing the kingdom to become bankrupt that would leave it at the whims of Gwangje. Ghaesan became well known for it's horses, the plains of what is now western Hwangchu made horse travel easy and ancient historians had once talked about the power of the Ghaesan Horsemen, tens of thousands of men on horseback who glided through the winds to defeat their opponents in combat. One of the best known battles of this period, the Battle of Kaesan, is recorded to have taken place between Ghaesan and Faemi forces. This battle is thought to what ended the Faemi Dynasty as their army became overwhelmed by flanking Ghaesan horsemen which would kill not only most of their army, but also the Faemi King which would eventually lead to Ghaesan conquering the capital of Faemi towards the end of the 13th Century. Faemi were by far the weakest power, they held small territory towards the south west of what is now Hwangchu but go around through the centuries by political back dealings and intrigue that would see them last at least 800 years until they were defeated by Ghaesan in the Battle of Kaesan.

Unification of the Four Dynasties would not occur for over 10 centuries, by the 15th Century the Dynasties that had ruled the Kingdoms of 5th Century had long disappeared. The Ghaesan had undergone internal strife and multiple coups to eventually become the Hulgwang Dynasty whilst the Ohsae Dynasty had been annihilated during a plague and succeeded by a cadet branch, becoming the Kwanghul Dynasty and finally the Gwangje Dynasty had been absorbed by the Tang Kingdom from what is now the Selengerian Empire. During the late 15th Century, Hulgwang came under the rule of Chaesong the Great and underwent a golden age in technology, art and culture. This period, known as the Light of Chaesong period, saw Hulgwang manage to conquer Kwangchul through a rapid military campaign that would see the bulk of the Gwangje armies be destroyed in the Battle of Daesan. This was followed by an invasion on the Tang Kingdom during the late 16th Century which itself was coming under attack by the nascent Narangol under Songoson which reclaimed much of what was controlled previously by the Gwangje Dynasty. This would eventually lead to the first full unification of the lands which now make up Hwangchu under King Hulgwang Dae-Chul.

Hulgwang Dynasty and colonisation under the Selengerians
The beginning of the unified Hwangchu under the Hulgwang Dynasty would lead to a golden era in Hwangji technology. The first known practical pistol was created during this period for King Hulgwang Dae-Chul as well as many others with much of the cultural art and songs which remain understood from pre-colonised Hwangchu coming from this era. This era was generally considered to be the beginning of the modern Hwangchu identity, the Hulgwang Kingdom did much to try and standardise the Kingdom with the Hwangji language being promoted and customs such as practicing a martial art known as Kun Soong Chal and the Gyyongi Lights festival, an annual festival that involved lighting candles in a large circle to commemorate the dead. This period is commonly known as the Era of Elegance as the region did not see any major wars for a period of over 40 years. Whilst this period is well regarded by the common populace, it is commonly regarded to be the politically most corrupt era of Hwangji history. The Hulgwang Dynasty was largely controlled by a corrupt civil service elite known as the Chaebeun, the Chaebeun effectively ran the country and handled most government policies that would eventually lead to the annihilation of the noble classes in their political powers. This created a state that was unable to properly defend itself when the Dynasty came under attack by the Selengerians. In 1718, the Selengerian Army began an invasion of Hulgwang, this invasion caught an unprepared Hulgwang off guard with their armies disorganised and weak. The invasion was slow, a 5 year was would ensue with Hulgwang slowly being pushed back towards their northern coastline by Selengerian forces. Attempts to create counter-attacks were mostly beaten off by the Selengerians and eventually the last of the Hulgwang forces were defeated with the King dying to an arrow. This would lead to the colonisation of Hwangchu by the Selengerians who prompt attempted to assimilate the people into their culture through a mixture of cultural genocide and putting down rebellions. During much of this period, Hwangji women were sold off to Selengerian soldiers in order to systematically get rid of the Hwangji people whilst cultural practices such as the Gyyongi Light Festival became banned affairs. The Hwangji language fell out of use during this period as the Selengerians began forcing new languages onto the local people. During this period, there was much social unrest in the region. One notable event was the Blue Robe Rebellion in 1786 where 600,000 people rose up against their Selengerian rulers and marched down south from the city of Ochae towards the southern border with the Selengerian mainland. Despite success early into the rebellion, they were eventually defeated by Selengerian forces which led to the massacre of the city of Uncheon in a 2 month sacking and looting that led to an estimated death toll of over 1 million. Because of the internal strife in the region

This would eventually culminate in the Great Revolution, under the banner of Daesan Puljei, millions in Hwangchu rose up in open rebellion in 1863 as Selengeria itself went through a mass civil war. The ruling Narangol class was toppled by rebel forces with mass executions of Narangol nobles and their families took place. Estimated 1.3 million Narangols were either killed, imprisoned or fled the nation whilst scores of other minorities such as Gankui and Yao people came north seeking relief from the civil wars taking place in Selengeria. The modern borders of Hwangchu were established during this period as the nation came under the control of the restored monarchy under King Po Won-Shik. This would usher in the return of a Hwangchu Kingdom known as the State of Hwangchu.

State of Hwangchu
The State of Hwangchu that has rebelled from the Selengerian Empire was marked by political and internal instability as rival factions who had rebelled desired new powers in this kingdom. This would eventually be handled by King Po Won-Shik who exiled many radicals from both sides and began building up a new civil service to handle the affairs of the state. This led to the beginning of the nascent state would have it's initial years characterised by a cold relationship with the Selengerians and a cultural revival which saw the mass usage of the Hwangji Language reintroduced and the reintroduction of many practices as a matter of state. Although the Hwangji people saw their cultural revived in an attempt to forge a new identity, the remaining diaspora of Narangols and various other ethnic groups originating from Selengeria saw themselves treated as second class citizens as a result of the treatment they had previously given to the Hwangji people. Although King Po Won-Shik attempted to reconcile the relationship between the ethnic groups in his nation, he was eventually assassinated in 1895 by a Narangoli Nationalist which would lead to the increased brutal treatment of the local peoples by the Hwangji which would eventually lead to the Hwangji-Selengerian War in 1896.

The Hwangji-Selengerian War began in January 1896 when Selengerian forces clashed with border Hwangji troops leading to a series of skirmishes which would eventually culminate in the Battle of Joseon. This would become a major victory for the Hwangji with Selengerian forces losing to a force led by General Dae Sil-Shik. This would culminate in an eventual invasion of the outer Selengerian lands by Hwangji forces, this however, resulted in major defeated for Hwangji forces in the Battles of Zhu and Twangji that would eventually culminate in the beginning of a year long stalemate until the end of the war. The Hwangji Navy, meanwhile, seized the islands of Beoksa and Raeyung solidifying Hwangji control over the Sakheda Bay. The war would eventually come to a close in 1898 with the nation of Mero-Curgovina acting as mediator in the peace talks between the two. The war would eventually be decided as a stalemate with Hwangchu losing some territory towards the south whilst Hwangchu retained the islands it seized in the Sahkeda Bay.

Post-war Hwangchu became a euphoric place as Artemian culture, technology and influence flowing into the region. Artemian couture became the new thing in Hangji nobility as they began to build new structures based on West Artemian architecture. Trade began to flourish in the region due to the control of the Straits of Gweongjji and the untapped industry which had long been neglected as a result of Selengerian control. This would eventually culminate in the industrial revolution that arrived in Hwangchu in the 1910s with the first factory complex being set up in Ochae. Hwangchu rapidly began to modernise as imported machinery from West Artemia was adopted in an attempt to balance the power against the Selengerian Empire. This rapid modernisation, however, would result in the rising of a military elite trained in West Artemian Military Academies that would eventually lead to the coup against the Government by General Im Kwang in 1927 leading to the fall of the State of Hwangchu and the beginning of the Republic.

Republic of Hwangchu
The Coup of Red Blood would mark the beginning of a 56 year period commonly known in Hwangji Society as the "Years of Hurt", the ensuing military dictatorship began massive economic reforms known as "The Plan to Freedom". This invovled the mass industrialisation of most of Hwangchu, farmlands which were traditionally help by families for centuries were seized by the government with the Army suppressing dissent and rebuilt into massive factory complexes for use by the state. By 1938, Hwangchu was thought to have the most extensive factory networks in East Kesh as a result of this with a large labour force which was kept subservient by the Army and the secret police known as the Daekson. During this period, the Government began the removal of previously observed religious traditions in a bid to standardise culture in the Republic and keep the people dedicated to the state and not to their religions. Various temples were shut down, many of the largest ended up being destroyed in favour of creating factories and various other new complexes. It was also during this period that many foreign investors came in with the Republican Government offering subsidies to foreign companies looking to invest in the region. This would eventually culminate in the first Hwangji ship being back in Ochae, ship construction would eventually become one of the hallmark factors of Hwangji Industry even going into the 21st Century.

Despite the success of industrialisation, increasing desire to have greater families as a result of falling standards of living, resulted in a mass food shortage going into the 1940s as farms could not produce enough food to keep up with the rising population. This would result in the Great Famine which would result in the death of over 2 million people, causing a massive labour shortage and eventually causing the government to shut down hundreds of it's factories and create new farmland by cancelling their projects for new factories, buying private property and repurposing as farms, starting a mass importation of foreign food and revitalising land in order to use it again as farmland. This resulted in a sharp decrease in manufacturing capabilities with hundreds of factories being shut down in order to support the new populous. This would result in a mass loss of investment for foreign investors during the 1930s and 40s which would lead them to leave the country due to the volatile situation in the country. The outbreak of the Great Kesh War in 1949 posed issues for the government and, despite animosity towards Selengeria, with weakened state it was unable to get involved with the war due to the economic situation and the rising political unrest as a result of the Great Famine. Uprisings in Gwangje, Ohbil and Yoongae which lead to harsh military responses with thousands dying during this period to military responses to civil unrest. Despite this, Hwangchu remerged as an investment opportunities for commercial businesses as the war in East Kesh made the economic situation even more volatile than that of Hwangchu. This would lead to an economic boom as mass investment from companies that previously looked to nations like Akiteiwa or Kodeshia came to Hwangchu. Under General Hyeong Eun, GDP saw increases of over 10% for 7 years running as the government began to import modern fertilisers, industrial fishing equipment and introduced canned food which effectively ended the Great Famine. This would lead the country to become a leading commercial economic power in the region as it went into the 1960s with modern television, radio and military equipment from West Artemia arriving on the shores of Hwangchu. It was during this period that the focus on education began to increase with the government offering family grants if members achieved a university degree. This new generation of educated Hwangji people would eventually begin to become influenced by liberal countries and result in a rising class of political dissidents.

By the 1970s, mounting political unrest and desire for a democracy would result in the first major democracy riots with the July 9th Riots after the accidental shooting of student Dokgo Man-Shik by military policemen. These riots took place in Seulgwang with tens of thousands of university students, political dissidents and various ethnic groups taking part. The riot was violently put down by the Army's 9th Division with 56 being killed as well as thousands becoming wounded in the ensuing conflict between the military and civilian populous in Seulgwang. The event was largely suppressed by the Daekson who denied access to the city for journalists and imprisoned those who managed to get in. Despite the riot being put down, multiple other smaller riots began breaking out demanding democratic rights and an end to the military dictatorship These were all largely suppressed by the Army who eventually launched a coup against General Hyeong Eun, she was killed in a shootout with rebelling Army forces with General Geum Bong taking control of the Republic and leading it into the 1980s. Attempts to strengthen ties with Chezzetcook and various West Artemian countries largely succeeded with the Air Force and Navy becoming equipped with brand new Aquilon and Rapace fighters and imported tanks from Ringerike were brought in to replace aging systems dating back to the 1950s. Despite this, political unrest still mounted as divisions in the military began to fracture. The Navy began to feel more disenfranchised with the Army's influence in the political sphere and their treatment of civilians. As a result, the Army began to carefully isolate the Navy from political spheres by removing it's officers from ministerial and government positions in Seulgwang and focus on containing their influence up north. This largely failed, however, as the Navy began openly showing hostility to the Army with a few senior officers demanding democratic rule in order to restore their influence despite the fear of reprisal from the Daekson. This would result in a coup launched by prominent dissident General Tan Shin-Il and the Hwangji Marine Division on the Army government in Seulgwang which would lead to the overthrow the decades old Republic and General Geum Bong and his loyalists escaping to Selengeria. This coup would eventually lead to the formation of the Grand Kingdom of Hwangchu with the King being restored as a head of state and the first general election taking place in June 1984 in which Tan Shin-Il became the first Prime Minister of Hwangchu, having retired from the military shortly after the coup, thanks to the mass popularity he gained having been a prominent pro-democratic Marine and leader of the coup that toppled the government.

Modern Hwangchu
Moving into the late 1980s, mass reforms undertook by Tan Shin-Il saw the culling of the military budget, greater focus on civil projects and the first steps towards opening the country to foreign journalists and exporting the culture of the Hwangchu. This became known as the "Dawn Policy" as greater steps were made to improving the freedoms of the local people, the Daekson were abolished and outlawed, food cards were slowly taken out of service, the military police was massively reduced with a focus on creating new federal and prefecture police forces and local and foreign press were given more freedoms to report on the country. The new government also commissioned a famous TV program, "Reply 1980", which was hailed by critics worldwide for best portraying the life under the dictatorship and the hardships that it caused. The program became a cornerstone in foreign understanding of Hwangchu during the Republic era. Tan Shin-Il's policies didn't just help the democratisation of the country which increased it's freedom index ranking, which went from one of the lowest to that of one of the highest, but it also massively helped the economy as government intervention was decreased to allow private companies to flourish. Most notably, the ship construction business expanded massively during this period as shipyards in Ochae, Gwangje, and Changsil began producing thousands of large vessels a year. It was also during this period that the defence industry began to become a significant industry, whilst previously they had been limited to small arms and light vehicles as well as assembling aircraft kits, they began producing more advanced heavy equipment starting with a domestic APC to replace their Ringerike produced APCs.

A greater focus on civil policies, improving the life of the people, became a core focus of the "Dawn Policy", this came in the form of exploring the history of the State of Hwangji. The Kingdom spent billions in restoration of cultural artefacts and buildings such as old temples, despite the state atheism imposed by the government. It was also during this period that investment in so-called "Green Initiatives" began by repurposing old factories into urban areas into parks and recreational centres for the local population. These policies would continue into the 1990s with each government all pledging to create a true democratic regime to never allow the existence of a dictatorship like the Republic again. However, whilst these civil policies became popular with the country on the whole rising in it's GDP and standards of living, blows were exchanged with the Selengerians yet again in the early 2000s. Dispute over fishing rights in the Sahkeda Bay had led to the Selengerian Navy and the Hwangji Naval Guard to dispatch patrol vessels to monitor their coastal waters. This led to an exchange of fire when a pair of Selengerian patrol vessels fired on the fishing boat Daeiksu, killing 6 and injuring a further 13, which prompted a response from GHS Cheon-Il which led to a skirmish in which both Selengeria patrol vessels were sunk by the larger Cheon-Il, 27 being killed and the remaining 34 being captured by the Hwangji Naval Guard. This led to an tense flair up in tensions led to a mass increase in the military budget from 3% of the GDP to 4.2% as well as a focus on strengthening partnerships with the Akiteiwa Federation and the Empire of Kodeshia.

Government
The Kingdom of Hwangchu is a under a  with a. The current Queen is Gyeon Mee-Yeon acts as head of state having succeeded her father, Gyeon So-Jung, who died suddenly only 2 years into his reign. The constitution of the country is uncodified, being based on statutes, treaties and various written sources dating back to the Kingdom of Cheon-gil during the 16th Century. Parliament is able to pass constitutional reform known as the acts of the crown and retains the political power to abolish any element of the constitution whether written or unwritten.

Parliament itself is made up of 2 houses, the House of Lords is the upper house and consists of the aristocratic classes that were retained during the Republic period whilst the House of Deputies is the elected legislative body with Deputies being elected during elections. Business of parliament primarily takes place in these 2 houses with bills being made by the federal government needing to pass through both houses before reaching the Queen where she gives her gaehay in order for the bill to become an act of the houses (law). Whilst officially, the Queen is permitted to refuse any bill she does not like by not giving it her gaehay, the monarch's diminished power has meant that no monarch since the formation of the Kingdom has ever denied a bill to become an act of house.

The country is divided into 720 districts of which each district is represented by a Deputy. These Deputies hold their positions for 4 years and can be re-elected during general elections. The People's Party, the People for Strength and Unity, the Steel Front and the Democratic People's Party are the largest parties respectively and hold the first, second, third and fourth highest amount of MPs respectively. In Hwangjian Politics, it's not unusual for coalitions to be formed with 3 of the 9 governments that have existed in Hwangchun being made up of coalition governments. Previously, the Kingdom was dominated by the 4 major parties, however recently there has been a surge in the popularity of smaller parties such as the Ochean People's Union or the Hangil League which has lead to increasingly more contested elections every 4 years.

The head of government is the Prime Minister, an appointed position by the monarch and traditionally the leader of the largest party/coalition as they are required to lead the confidence of Parliament in order to be the Prime Minuster. The Prime Minister holds various other positions such as Minister for Internal Affairs, First Minister of the Royal Treasury, Minister of the Civil Service and Minister for Sangeon. The Prime Minister also acts as the principal advisor to the monarch and is required to regualrly meet with them to update them on the political situation. Prime Ministers also have other duties such as recommending the appointment of ministers to the monarch and also chairing the cabinet. The current Prime Minister is Seok Wyung-Dae, leader of the People's Party, who leads a coalition of the Steel Front and The People's Party along with various other small parties such as the Ochean People's Union, the Sangeon Socialist Front and various other smaller parties. His Vice Prime Minister is leader of the Steel Front, Hae He-Ran. General elections are the primary way in which Prime Ministers come to power, they're held every 4 years and involve a 4 week period where Parliament is dissolved in order to prepare for a new government. During this period, no parliamentary business may be done and the Deputies cease their duties in order to await the election results. Candidates are stood at each district in order to become the Deputy for that distract. Candidates may stand for a party or may run as an independent, although almost all successful candidates are part of a major political party. Hwangchu nationals over the age of 17 are eligible to vote in elections. The party with the highest amount of seats above the minimum of 380 is then invited to form the government and if a party does not meet the requirements for 380 seats, it's able to from a coalition with friendly parties in order to reach the threshold of 380. In many cases, these can make a serious difference with the election of 2000 being decided by the coalition between the People for Strength and Unity and the 12 seat obtained by the Sangeon Conservative Union which allowed the minority government that was to be formed to reach 384 seats, 4 above the required 380 to form a majority government. The largest party/coalition forms the opposition known as Her Highnesses' Most Benevolent Opposition and primarily functions to critique and oppose the views of the government in order to prepare for the next election. The current opposition is led by Moon Jae-Sul who leads the People for Strength and Unity in coalition with the Hangil League.

Demographics
The national census data is taken every 5 years by the Department of Administrative Affairs. In November 2020 the recorded population was 48,247,812 indicating a continuation of the trend of a rising population that had been ongoing ever since the 1990s. It is the second lowest populated county in East Kesh just after Alva and amongst the lower percent quartile of populations in the world. Between 1984 and 1990, the population began to fall with an overall 3.4% decrease in population observed in 1985 just after the Yellow Revolution. This changed in 1990 with the first recorded rise in population as an approximate rise of 0.1% compared to the 0.2% fall that was observed between the period of 1989 and 1990. During the period of 2000 and 2010, the average increase in population rise to 1.2% with the island of Sangeon rising to 2.6%. The latest census data from 2020 revealed that a percentage increase of 0.9% was observed.

The Ochae Metropolitian area has the largest population with 8.5 million people, or 5.7% of the total population. The area is one of the densest population areas in East Kesh with a total of 4,905 people per square kilometre with most living on the coast near the port complex of Ochae. The city of Gwangje follows Ochae in population followed the capital of Seulgwang. The country itself is one of the least densely populated countries in East Kesh with 171 people per square kilometer with most living on the coast.

The total fertility rate across Hwangchu is 2.03 children per woman. This rising birth has been a contribution to the increase in population growth after the formation of the Kingdom during the Yellow Revolution. Still, it remains much lower than the total of 4.05 children which was observed during the early industrialisation of the country in 1910s or the highest which was recorded in 1837 with a total of 6.84 children per woman. 46.9% of births were recognised to be from unmarried women whilst a further 1.2% were of IVF birth. The Department of Administrative Affairs posted statistics that 2% of people identified themselves as bisexual, gay or lesbian (1.2% of them being female and 0.8% of them being male) whilst a further 5.6% responded to the poll with "I don't know", or did not respond to the poll that was given. There is an estimated 24,000 transgender people in Hwangchu.

Ethnic Groups
Historically, most Hwangji are though to be descended form the various ethnic groups of ancient Hwangchu such as the Chuan and Ochae peoples. This is also followed by ancient Narangol people who emmigrated in the late 8th Century aswell as raiders from what is now Bakfong and Akiteiwa. A genetic stufy in 2007 showed that 70% of all people in Hwangchu held a Chuan D Chromosome with most people in the UK able to trace their ancestry to the local ethnic groups from the region who arrived over 10,000 years ago during one of the many ice ages.

Hwangchu also have a historic history of housing immigrants and with the oldest sect, the Narangols, having arrived during the early 1700s when the Selengerians colonised the region. During this period, it's estimated a total of 190,000 Narangol and various other ethnic groups from Selengeria emigrated to the nascent colony. This number slowly rose with the long term goal for the Selengerians being the cultural genocide of the Hwangji people and being replaced with Narangols or mixed-race people. The population of Narangols and other ethnic groups originating from Selengeria drastically decreased during the Great Revolution with the amount of Narangols falling from 2,550,000 to around 470,000 as the people were either killed during the revolution or fled to native Selengerian land during the various civil wars. The population, however, increased during the 1920s when civil war forced many Narangols and other minorities to flee to the nascent Republic of Hwangchu. As a result, Narangol population now sits around 3.2 million making up around 6.7% of the total population.

Other major ethnic populations are the Yao and the Gankui, both originate from Selengeria and also came to Hwangchu during the colonisation of the area by the Selengerians. The population of Gankui and the Yao was approximately around 940,000 and 230,000 respectively. Like with the Narangols, both ethnic groups were either forced to flee or were killed ruing the Great Revolution of 1963. Much like with the Narangol, this population largely recovered during the 1920s when civil war in Selengeria forced many refugees from the country to the Republic of Hwangchu. As of recently according to the 2020 census, 2.6 million or 5.4% of the population were ethnically Gankui whilst 2.2 million or around 4.6% were ethnically Yao. A number of other ethnic groups originating from Selengeria such as the Barajids and the Ngan make up around 800,000 of the population. Uniquely, the Kingdom of Hwangchu does not recognise "mixed" as an ethnic group primarily for ease of administration but does allow certain citizens to use "mixed" on non-government documentation.

Artemian ethnic groups have recently had a large spike in population with the popularisation of mass migration and the opening of Hwangchu as a tourist and migration location with Anglic becoming a recognised language in 2003. Migration from Artemia accounted for most of the immigration for the last 20 years. This was shown as the population of Artemian ethnic groups increased from around 52,936 to 737,927 with the most coming from the nations of Mero-Curgovina, Agrana y Griegro, Goetia and Samotkhe.

Ethnic diversity varies massively across the Kingdom of Hwangchu. Puljeon, Paesong, Gwanje and other southern areas are the most ethnically diverse areas with Gwangje being made up of 34.6% ethnic groups other than Hwangji. This is compared to the north and areas such as Yaluek where only 5.7% of the population is made up of non-Hwangji or the prefecture of Illin where only 6.3% is non-Hwangji. The greatest disparity is in the islands of Salbeon and Sangeon were only 0.2% of the respective populations identify as non-Hwangji. The exception to this rule is the Metropolitan area of Ochae which is made up of 26.5% of the population is non-Hwangji. In 2018, the Department of Administrative Affairs noted 38.5% of primary school students and 43.4% of secondary school students in Hwangchu were members of an ethnic minority.

Education
Education is one of the most important parts of Hwangji society, the Department of Edcuation oversees the education of all children's education from 5 to 18 years old. All children are required to undergo education from the ages of 5 to 16. Education or formal training in certain fields are also required to the ages of 18. School schedules are not formalised and vary school to school however all students in Hwangchu are required to wear the same uniforms throughout their education, inspired much by western Artemian nations. Boys are required to wear black and grey trousers and white shirts whilst girls must wear either grey or black skirts and white shirts. Recently the country had encouraged foreign students from friendly nations, primarily those from Akiteiwa and Kodeshia, by the creation of a foreign students scholarship program. The Department of Education noted that in 2019, over 80,000 scholarships had been given to foreign students from the ages of 11-16. Hwangchu is one of the top performing countries in literacy, mathematics and sciences with a high ranking in education, ranking high in educational rankings by independent institutes. The nation is known for it's obsession with education, something which widely considered to have replaced the intrigue in religion. Gaining a good education was one of the cornerstones of Hwangji society during the Republic era with most families determining their place in society based on the education of their members. As a result, the ability to enter into one of Hwangchu Universities such as Ochae Tech and gain employment in major corporations such as Daewhan or Cheungal was seen as one of the most important parts of society during the 196s and 70s. This also led to high pressure on under-18s to get into university and study meaning the suicide rate for the age group became the highest in East Kesh with children unable to handle the pressure put on them by parents and by the military government who demanded a more educated populous As such, non-university educated citizens were largely looked down upon as inferior to those with a university degree. This mentality mostly changed after the revolution with the focus on education as a family cornerstone being less encouraged by the government seeking to encourage foreign immigration and a greater non-university workforce for the factories and shipyards. As a result, by 2010, the suicide and emigration numbers for under-18s had drastically fallen as the desire to have a university education had fallen off. This also led to a decrease in the overall ranking of education in Hwangchu who fell from top 3 to the top 10.

Education in Hwangchu is a state-run affair with most schools being owned by the government. The country spent a total of 4.9% of it's GDP on it's intricate education system with it being broken into 2 parts. Primary school consists of Education Stage 1, 2 and 3 whilst at Secondary School deals with Education Stages 4 and 5. At the end of Year 11, all students are required to take the General Education Examination Test (GEET) in order to advance onto post-16 education. Should students be unable to pass their GEET or do not wish to undergo post-16 education, they are required to do an alternative education, apprenticeships, volunteering or vocational schooling. Education given at post-16 level to 18 is known as Sixth Form and requires students to undertake 4 subjects on which they will be tested on once they reach 18 known as the M-Test (Monarch's Test) on which, if they pass, will be awarded their college degrees on their respective subjects and be able to undertake an undergraduate degree at university. Higher education is not run by the state and instead lays to multiple private institutions who run universities in the country. Most notable is Ochae Tech, Seulgwang University and Paehan University which are owned by subsidiaries of Daehwan Corporation as well as Puljeon University owned by Osuan Industries. Typically, students attending universities owned by certain companies are given preferential treatment during the application process for a company associated with their school. Students who do higher education are required to do a 2 year undergraduate course in which they can achieve various kinds of qualifications ranging from National Degrees to the Queen's Most Esteemed Degree. The federal government has no control over the university syllabuses and nor over admissions which has led to criticism from Education Equality, a Hwangji education watchdog group, about favouritism in Universities for children of employees from the companies that own said universities. An attempt was made to rectify this but was rebuffed in 2008 when the bill failed to pass in the House of Deputies and was shelved. Education Equality has the job of inspecting various universities for their educational powers, the quality of their education and various other things. Although Education Equality has the ability to advise the government, they are not able to enact educational reforms, something they have campaigned for a while. Whilst the federal government does not control syllabuses, they have control over teacher training courses as educational training is seen as one of the most important parts of the country's educational policy, these standards are by the Department of Education's Office for Educational Excellence.

Post-graduate education is available once you have completed an undergraduate degree with certain universities dedicated to post-graduate degrees such as Changsil University run by the Jaewoo Corporation. These degrees are required if you wish to become a senior civil servant. Postgraduate degrees are also required to become a senior officer in the Hwangji Military above the paygrade of HO-4, this is usually done at Queen's Military Institute in Baeku which provides unique military officer degrees such as military engineering, warfighting skills and military science.

Military education is also an option at 16. The Hwangji Military operated 6 major institutions to provide alternative education at the under-18 level and university education at the post-18 level. These institutions are typically run by major military organisations such as the Marine Officer's Academy at Salbeon or the Army Engineering Polytechnic School nearby Gwangje. These universities provide degrees applicable to both military and civilian life ranging from infantry officer skills, medical skills, business management or law degrees. All members of military educational facilities are permitted to enter as an officer upon the start of their national service. Military educational facilities have their syllabuses intertwined with officer training and, unlike other undergraduates, they will not receive their degrees until they pass their officer training or are discharged as unsuitable for national service.

Military
Territorial disputes with Selengeria over the Sakheda Bay, the religious fanaticism of Tiperyn and fear of the Selengerians after having spent years under their control has lead to Hwangchu to allocate a total of 4.2% of it's GDP to it's defence budget and 13.9% of all Government spending towards funding the military. This mass militarisation of the nation is also typified by the National Service for all capable men and women aged 17 to 35 although alternative service in the Federal Police Force or the Civil Service. This has lead to a military consisting of over 720,000 troops across all services and a reserve of 1,257,000 men, making it one of the largest in the region as a result.

Hwangchu is extremely dedicated to it's military alliance with Akiteiwa and Kodeshia against Tiperyn and Selengerian aggression in the region and the country maintains 4 services: The Hwangji Army, Naval Guard, Air Guard and the Corps of Royal Marines. Most of their military forces are based around the defensive line around the border with Selengeria with the navy heavily based on the islands of Cheolyin and Beoksa with the aim to project Hwangjian dominance in the region to prevent expansion of the fanatic Tiperyns and the repressive Selengerians in the region and promoting free trade and democracy in the region.

The Army has a mixed reputation due it's usage during the era of the Republic. Previously, Hwangchu spent over 15% of it's GDP on the military and it was regularly used to repress local populous in the region. The military dictatorship's usage of the Army as a tool for control rather than defence led to their relative weakness during the military campaigns of the 1970s leading to serious defeats, causing a massive embarrassment for the government who had promoted the Army. The Army at the moment has a total of 1,972 tanks mostly the G1 and G2 Main Battle Tanks. These armoured vehicles form the spine of a mechanised force consisting of thousands of IFVs and APCs as well as supporting a large artillery force consisting of over 800 self-propelled artillery pieces, 7,000 other pieces of artillery as well as 680 helicopters as well as a wide variety of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles. This large portion of artillery is primarily to counter Selengerian Artillery units opposite them and act as a deterrence against a land invasion in lieu of nuclear weaponry.

On the opposite spectrum is the the Navy, heavily respected by the people for their professionalism and it's dedication to defend the islands of Cheolyin and various other islands in the Straits of Gweongjji as well as the disputed islands in the bay such as Beoksa. The Naval Guard was amongst the foremost naval powers in the region in conjunction with the Akitei Royal Navy and the Imperial Kodeshi Navy. The Naval Guard retains a single carrier, the GHS Jo Seon-Gil, commissioned soon after the revolution after having spent 8 years in construction. Although retaining a fairly dated carrier, the Naval Guard has a multitude of modern destroyers of the Chaesong the Great-Class and the Sangil-Class. Hwangchu's primary naval contribution the (insert alliance name) is the Littoral Strike Group consisting of the GHS Jo Seon-Gil, Chaesong the Great-Class Destroyers, Baekdu-Class Amphibious Assault Ships, Hyungil-Class Attack Submarines and Ohsan-Class Air Defence Frigates. The Naval Guard is one of the primary defensive measures against the threat of Tiperyn and Selengerian nuclear weaponry poised towards Hwangchu. The Naval Guard also retains a Naval Air Guard consisting of 36 Aquilon G15s as well as supporting helicopters and a pair of GE-3 AWACs based on the Nieuport-Saulnier Condor.

The Air Guard operates a total of 760 aircraft, it operates a number of modern fighter craft such as the GF-15 Aquilons and GF-9 Rapaces as well as the domestically produced GF-12 Sangae Fighter supported by a fleet of less modern GF-8 Mystères, the Air Guard also operates a fleet of 7 GE-2 AWACs  as well as a multitude of transport aircraft to support combat operations. The Air Guard is also tasked with delivering Hwangji Airborne forces and supporting overseas Hwangji units logistically and with tactical mobility. The Air Guard also operates Hwangji's dense network of air defence systems aimed at providing defence against air attacks from Selengeria and Tiperyn as well as protecting the straits to free trade from enemy interdiction. The Air Guard is well known for it's foreign humanitarian aid missions, transport aircraft regularly take part in delivering aid to war torn regions and to those suffering from war and disasters.

The Grand Corps of Royal Marines is perhaps the most beloved and well regarded of all the services. Indeed, the Hwangji Marine Division of the Republic era and its' commander Tan Shin-Il were the driving force behind the coup of the military dictator that would eventually lead to the creation of the Kingdom of Hwangchu. Notably, the Corps of Royal Marines is the only branch that has been given Royal patronage by Queen Geyon Mee-Yeon who bestowed upon the title to the Corps in 2016. The Corps is made up of 2 Divisions and an Marine Brigade totalling 25,000 Marines as well as a mixture of G1 Tanks and other assorted armoured vehicles. The Corps also retains the Kingdom's sole Special Mission Reconnaissance Unit under Hwangchu Special Forces Command, the 4th Marine Special Tasking Force.

Economy
Hwangchu's mixed economy is amongst the most robust on the Kesh continent and qualifies as a highly developed and high-income country. The country is well known for it's advanced electronics products such as Daehwan Electronics, however Hwanghu itself mostly exports cars with Hwangjian Cars being world renowned for their affordable hatchbacks. Another major industry noted is the shipbuilding industry, Hwangjian Shipbuilding companies have an approximately 37% market share in new orders. This mixture of advanced electronics investment and traditional manufacturing led to Hwangchu able to develop an advanced mixed economy reliant on international trade from which it was able to transition into the 21st Century.

Although robust now, the State of Hwangchu of the 1800s was deeply poor as a result of the few natural resources in the region. This would be changed during when the industrial revolution eventually reached Hwangchu in the 1910s which led to the creation of the first factories in the country. The Republic of Hwangchu heavily invested in it's industrial capabilities, stripping traditional farmers of their land and introducing nationwide rationing in order to stimulate economic growth. Subsidies offered by the government led to the formation of companies such as Daehwan as well as Cheungal and Osuan Industries who remain major players in the econcomy of Hwangchu. This economic growth fell off in the 1930s and 40s when major food shortages led to mass famine which required the government to spend much money on importing food from overseas as well as demolishing factories to build new farms. This was also what lead to the nation investing heavily in it's education, blasting state propaganda into the people in order to make them value their child's education more. This would eventually lead to Hwangchu having one of the most educated populous in the world. During the 1970s, the advent of Daehwan Shipbuilding as well as the increasing prominence of electronics led Hwangchu to offering subsidies and low to foreign companies in order to invest in the region and reducing their tariffs to foreign nations which helped stimulate masses of imports to the nation via shipping. This, along with the strong manufacturing base and the highly educated citizenry, would lead to an explosion in economic development in the 1970s and 80s with the highest recorded economic growth of 12.6% being recorded in 1981. This allowed Hwangchu to reduce it's foreign debt massively, a trend which remains in the 21st Century. When the Republic was overthrown by the new Kingdom of Hwangchu, the economy had since stagnated to around 2.3% on average over the last 4 years which led to a new shift in the economy. Services were now becoming more prevalent with banking and financial trading taking centre stage from traditional manufacturing. Despite this, automobile and shipbuilding industry remained extremely strong in the 1990s as well as the increasingly prominent armaments industry with Daehwan Heavy Industries and Bujun Systems investing heavily in creating domestic arms for the Hwangjian Military as well as exporting to foreign nations around the world. Tourism of the 2000s also became of increasing prominence as the governments of the Kingdom began investing in restoring old landmarks and locations of the State of Hwangju and various other Kingdoms of the past which had became derelict under the regime of the Republic.

Hwangchu retains a free-market economy with only a few state owned companies of which most notably is the Hwangjian Housing Corporation which controls the state owned public houses where most people in the nation live. The largest companies include the Daehwan Corporation, the Cheungal Conglomerate and Osuan Industries. Hwangchu is known for it's market stability, a mixture of low debt and extremely high fiscal reserves means that the government is freely able to respond to economic crises easily, most notably seen in the Hwangjian Financial Crash of 2005. This had led to a country which relies heavily on both imports and exports as well as foreign investment thanks to it's market stability. Despite this, the country's credit rating as well as it's consumer confidence is regularly affected by the military flareups between it and it's neighbours that occur ever few years. Something that the government has been attempting to deal with since the creation of the State of Hwangchu.

Sports
Sport in Hwangchu has a massive prominence in society, previously a tool used to control the lower classes by the Republic back in the 1900s, sport has now a major place in government policy and is one of the biggest culture exports of the nation. The most popular and financially successful sports include:, , , and various. The national sport of the nation is which was invented by Colonel Jeong Duck-Young in the 1950s as a military exercise for recruits to the prestigious Republican Guard before eventually becoming a national sport.

The largest played game in Hwangchu was polled in 2014 to be football with 43% of the population interested in football with the Rugby League coming close behind with 32% saying they were interested in Rugby. Sports is required by the federal curriculum with the most popular sport amongst boys being rugby with 65% of all school boys between 8-17 taking the sport whilst amongst girls it was football with 54% of girls between 8-17 similarly taking the sport. Leagues in Hwangchu is organised by the Ministry of Sport with the organisation between the major sports of Rugby and Football being fairly similar. Youth leagues are amongst the most notable cultures of the region with schools regularly taking part in these leagues against one another for glory.

Football in Hwangchu is divided into 4 professional federal leagues with semi-professional leagues being managed by the Prefecture Governments. The top tier X League is the most prestigious of these leagues and occupies the top of the pyramid, the X League is a big export in the local region with competition between the clubs being extremely prevalent. The X League itself is funded by a mixture of state and private investment, previously the X League (known before during the Republic as the First League) was a wholly government run affair. This meant that many teams were run by government organisations such as the Ohsae Lions who were financed and sponsored by the Army whilst the most successful team, Puljeon United, was financed and sponsored by the Daekson. This was highly controversial in the nation as the government traditionally controlled who won the league and affected the results of each season through a mixture of bribing officials, government sanctioned doping, government pressure on opponent teams and various other measures. These were unveiled during the revolution of 1983 when it became apparent just how much power that various state apparatus had over the control of the league's clubs. Following reforms in the 1990s, football came back to the forefront with the X League becoming prominent in East Kesh.

Rugby in Hwangchu was similarly divided into state leagues and a federal league. The Federal Government runs the Premier League, the top tier of the Rugby League and consists of 16 teams. Rugby is similarly funded by a mixture of private and government investment like football and benefits much as an export to foreign nations. Rugby is a relatively new sport to the public conscience, rugby culture began in the 1970s when it was imported to Hwangchu and became the sport of dissidents to the regime. Rugby was seen as a physical exercise for the brutish by the Republic who were trying to promote football as the ultimate test of a person's intelligence and speed. Rugby games during the 1970s and early 80s was regularly broken up by Republic Police and ruby organisations were banned under law with multiple dissident players being imprisoned and a few even being executed. Rugby did not become an official sport with federal backing until 1985 when the Federal League and the various Prefecture Leagues were formed.