Yeosan Islands

The Yeosan Islands (: 여산섬), officially the Equatorial Republic of the Yeosan Islands (: 여산섬 적도공화국), is an island nation comprising an eleven-island archipelago located entirely within the line of the Equator, 1,840 kilometres (1,143.3 miles) east from the islands of Komishima and 3,080 kilometres (1,913.8 miles) off the eastern coast of Akiteiwa and continental Kesh. The Yeosan Islands has a total population of around 1.3 million, and covers a total land area of 19,478 km2 (7,520 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Saekung, located on the country's largest and westernmost island.

The archipelago that today encompasses the territory of the Yeosan Islands was originally discovered and settled during the in the second millennium BCE by proto-Yeosanic riverine communities from East Kesh in present-day Kodeshia and Selengeria, originally known as Maein. Decades following their initial arrival to the islands, the first settlers began to gather into small sailing communities and chiefdoms, and explore the islands near the archipelago, reaching as far north as the islands of Novo Santa Helena, a present-day territory of Jungastia. Yeosani people managed to settle across many of the islands on the region, however, their reach and sphere of influence always remained centered around the Yeosan Islands due to the presence of other larger sailing people groups, also native to the region, such as the Komishimans from the offshore Akitei islands, and the Polynesians of Novo Santa Helena. Yeosani presence across the Tethys Ocean was eventually pushed back to the Yeosan Islands, where the natives would dispute ownership of the available land.

During this time of dispute, the Chiefdom of Bael and the Chiefdom of Honja would come out on top, splitting the islands amongst themselves. Bael, the larger of the two in land and population, would go on to become a regional power in the West Tethys Ocean, forming trading ties with the Komishiman people and reaching as far west as the coast of Akiteiwa. Honja, on the other hand, despite having the smaller territory, had flatter land and less people to accommodate, and therefore more space to grow food, which was then traded with Bael in exchange for materials from East Kesh. The two chiefdoms coexisted in a balanced relationship of trade and negotiations until the 2nd century CE, when Bael declared war on Honja to take over its islands and plantations. The two chiefdoms faced each other during what is historically known in the country as the Battle of Honbae, during which Bael managed to annex the Chiefdom of Honja.

The islands were eventually colonized in the 8th century by the Empire of Akiteiwa and integrated as one of its maritime territories, replacing the Yeosani Chief with the Akitei Emperor as the head of state, and renaming the islands to TBD. It wouldn't be until the start of the 20th century that the Yeosan Islands would gain legislative independence, and decades later, in 1952, complete autonomy as an independent republic.

Today, the Yeosan Islands is a developing country, with a GDP by (PPP) of $82.885 billion, one of the smallest in the world. The country has been a republic since 1952, and has been ideologically and politically since its inception. The Yeosan Islands has increasingly strong ties with all eastern Kesh nations, particularly those with coastlines on the Tethys Ocean, and has been a member of the Kesh-Tethys Economic Cooperation (KTEC) since TBD.

Etymology

 * See also: 

The name Yeosan is an that derives from the  words 여 (yeo), meaning 'many', and 산 (san), meaning 'mountain'. The meaning of the name is attributed to the country's main geographical feature of its many mountainous islands. The earliest recorded usage of this name in reference to the was found in a letter, from the 3rd century BCE, addressed to the Chief of Bael, signed by the Chief of Honja, with its complete form at the time being "the archipelago of the many peaks", indicating that the name was used originally as a regional and geographical denomination. The name was eventually lost to time as the islands adopted the name of Bael, and later on that of TBD, bestowed on them by Akiteiwa. The name was recovered by Yeosani historians in 1915, and later readopted as the state's name in 1952 with the establishment of the Equatorial Republic of the Yeosan Islands (Yeosani: 여산섬 적도공화국)

History

 * Main article: History of the Yeosan Islands

Arrival from East Kesh

 * Main article: Tethys migration

During the Bronze Age, in the second millennium BCE, the first Yeosani civilizations emerged as small riverine communities on the shores of the Shimao river, present-day Selengeria and Kodeshia. This people group spoke proto-Yeosanic, the oldest known relative to the modern Yeosani language, and settled throughout an area no larger than 10,000 km2 (6,213 sq mi.). As a stateless community, the ethnolinguistic group that the Yeosani people at the time comprised was known in Guoyu as Shimaoren (事鉚人, meaning ‘people of the Shimao river’), and as Maein (매인) in Yeosani, and whose language was heavily influenced for much of its early existence by and the northern dialects of Kodeshia. Being situated on both sides of the border between Kodeshi and Narangol territory, the Shimaoren eventually became subjugated to the ruling Kodeshi dynasty at the time and, with the development of writing, were forced to write proto-Yeosanic with the Guoyu script. At the start of the first millennium BCE, a large portion of the Shimaoren population fled Kodeshia by attempting to sail east across the Tethys Ocean, in hopes to find new land to settle.

Eastbound for the Tethys, it is estimated for nearly 500 people of the Shimaoren community to have fled continental Kesh in large sailing boats, following the Tethys Equatorial Countercurrent. A portion of this population arrived in what is present day Komishima, at the time inhabited by the native Komishimans who did not take kindly of the Shimaoren arrival, as evidenced by travel journals found in some of the surviving boats. It’s believed about a third of the Shimaoren population died at sea or in the Komishiman islands before an estimated three hundred people arrived in what is present-day Yeosan Islands’ territory.

Ancient Yeosan
According to Yeosani mythology, the Maeil people were able to navigate the West Tethys Ocean and reach the Yeosani archipelago with the aid of Bi (비), the Yeosani god of voyages, acting through Jayang, who was the one to lead the Maeil across the Tethys. Jayang is believed to have founded the Chiefdom of Jeonghae, considered the first Yeosani chiefdom to have existed, in the year 1500 BCE, comprising the entire island of Ilsan. Native stories tell that the Chiefdom of Jeonghae was ruled under the Bi dynasty for nearly 800 years before splitting into five smaller kingdoms in the year 700 BCE, however, written records documenting the existence of the Chiefdom of Jeonghae only date back as far as 900 BCE. At its height around the 800 BCE, the Chiefdom of Jeonghae reached the nearby islands of Novo Santa Helena and Iles Saint-Croix to the north and west respectively, with the purpose of inhabite them and expand Maeil influence across the West Tethys Ocean. Although Jeonghae was able to occupy smaller island and islets across the Tethys, the Maeil were quickly outnumbered and displaced back to their home territory in the Yeosan archipelago. During this time, the strength and power of the ruling Bi dynasty, historically associated with divinity, was brought into question, and as consequence the dynasty was overthrown and in its place were formed five separate kingdoms, each ruling over a specific island or group of islands: Mannan, Sinbaek, Sinhae, Hyeje, and Yeonan.

Colonization

 * Main article: Colonization of the Yeosan Islands
 * See also: Akiteiwa

Independence from Akiteiwa

 * See also: Grand Campaigns

In January of 1903, the government of Akiteiwa had begun to loose influence and hold on its territories in the Tethys Ocean, that had until that time been fully integrated within the country's political system and cultural sphere. In the case of the Yeosan Islands, this period of loosen authority, combined with the newly acquired legislative autonomy, made way for the rise of separatist movements and a rapid spread of republicanism as a major ideology among the native population. Many anti-monarchist protests took place during the months of February and March across all islands, with the largest of them being the Sit-in of Saekung on 3 March 1903, during which nearly 10,000 people sat down in the main street of the colony's capital as a form of peaceful protest for an independent Legislature.

On 15 April of 1903, the Royal and Imperial Diet of Akiteiwa passed the Saekung Decree, a legislative act that increased the sovereignty of the Territory of the Yeosan Islands, and in turn removed nearly all of the Akitei Legislature's authority over the Yeosani parliament, having the effect of making the Territory a sovereign nation in its own right. That very same year, the position of Prime Minister of the Yeosan Island was created, and only two months later, the Constitution of the Yeosan Islands was established as the supreme law. Akitei officials were repatriated and replaced with Yeosani ones, and all establishments that didn't carry Yeosani designations up until that point were renamed.

1950s Decade

 * Main article: The 1950s in the Yeosan Islands
 * See also: Osorra

A few decades following its legislative independence, the Yeosan Islands became ground for a new wave of republican insurgent movements and growing anti-monarchist feelings among the general population, particularly outside of the main island of Ilsan where the presence of native Yeosani people was more prominent. This was especially solidified at the beginning of the 1950s with the start of, in which Akiteiwa found itself heavily involved, as the population of the Yeosan Islands, and in particular its government, feared the possible retributions, consequence of the country's direct association with Akiteiwa. Toppled with this was the increasing military interest from the Akitei government in the Yeosan Islands as key territory during the war.

On 3 June 1951, a referendum was held by the Prime Minister at the time, Kim Baek-Son, backed by the Parliament in regards to the republican movement that had risen in the country. At 85% of the votes, the overwhelming majority of the population expressed to be in favor of a Yeosani head of state, with most of the opposition comprising virtually all citizens of Akitei origin. A week later, the Government of the Yeosan Islands announced, on 10 June 1951, to the government of Akiteiwa, that it intended to become a republic by 31 January 1952, resulting in the replacement of the hereditary title of Emperor of the Yeosan Islands, and the position of Prime Minister, with the elected positions of President of the Yeosan Islands and Vice President of the Yeosan Islands. This was not taken lightly by the Akitei government, who at the time was struggling to hold on to and maintain its influence in the region as the effects of the war drew in more international attention to the island territories.

In September of 1951, aware of the rising republicanism in the country, the government of Osorra, who was at the time, along with other socialist powers, in a direct opposition to the Akitei government, reached out to the Prime Minister of the Yeosan Islands offering military aid to the country in return for physical space to temporarily station naval forces as to extend Osorrai presence in the Tethys Ocean during the ongoing conflict. Fearing the possibility of annexation from Akiteiwa, the Yeosani government agreed to the presented terms and on 29 September 1951, the countries signed the Tethys Defense Agreement. On 1 November 1951, the first fleet of military Osorrai ships reached the island of Isan in the Hangu territory, and were stationed on the harbor of Gireun. Later that week, however, as more and larger ships arrived to the island nation, the Yeosani government handed over the entire island of Bujin, part of the Geunsan territory, to Osorra to use as temporary harbor for not only its ships but also as settlement for its men. The locals of Bujin showed little to no resistance, as the presence of Osorrai military had been promoted by the government as "the final step for liberation from Akiteiwa".

On 13 December 1951, six months after the announcement for the transition was made, the New Yeosani State Bill was presented in Parliament. Passed on 31 December, the Bill made amendments to the Constitution of the Yeosan Islands, introducing the office of the President of the Yeosan Islands to the replace the role of Emperor of the Yeosan Islands and Prime Minister. The following week, on 3 January 1952, the Prime Minister Kim Baek-Son nominated himself as temporary President of the Yeosan Islands until proper elections on 15 April of that same year, on the 26th anniversary of the country's independence, to which the Parliament agreed, and the general public showed no opposition given Baek-Son was already the holder of an elected position. He took office on 13 January 1952, and three months later on 15 April the country held its first presidential elections, electing former Member of Parliament Yoon Sun-Hyung as the first official President of the Yeosan Islands, and Hwang Tae-Byeok as Vice President.

The Yeosan Islands hosted the Osorrai navy, while simultaneously benefiting from its protection, until the end of the Great Kesh War in 1959.

Government

 * Main article: Government of the Yeosan Islands

The Yeosan Islands is a, comprising six territories. The Constitution of the Yeosan Islands is codified, and establishes a in the form of the, the , and the.

Executive

 * See also: President of the Yeosan Islands, Vice President of the Yeosan Islands, Chief of the Yeosan Islands

The of the Yeosan Islands is the President, a 6-year term position. The President isn't directly elected by the people, instead they are the head of the political party or coalition to obtain majority at Parliament during, and apart from being head of state, the President is also the of the armed forces. Presidents will always be elected jointly with a candidate for who, after elections, becomes second-in-command in event of the President's absence. Vice Presidents are also granted the position of Chairman of Parliament, and are in charge of overseeing all parliamentary sessions.

A ceremonial Head of State exists in the form of the Chief of the Yeosan Islands, a title that predates that of President. This position was removed during the Akitei occupation of the islands and was readopted with the country's transition into a republic in July of 1952 as a way to reclaim Yeosani cultural identity in all aspects of government. Today the Chief of the Yeosan Islands has no actual power in government, however, because of its position as a symbol of national and cultural pride, they're considered one of the most influential entities in the country. In modern times the Chief is the one to formerly hand over the title of President during presidential ceremonies, as it is a way to showcase the union between the government and the people (represented by the Chief). By convention all Chiefs will show support for the elected officials as to showcase a strong union between country and government.

The Cabinet of the Yeosan Islands, formed by the, is a body of high-ranking state officials part of the Executive power, tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the departments known as , that in turn handle specific areas of politics (e.g. Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.). The Ministers are drawn from the Legislature, through a process of, between a preselected group of candidates from the different political parties and coalitions.

Legislature

 * ''Main article: Legislature of the Yeosan Island

The Legislature of the Yeosan Islands comprises a body known as the National Parliament of the Yeosan Islands, simply referred to as Parliament, which is itself divided in two chambers: an upper house and a lower house. The upper house, or Senate, hosts elected representatives, known as Senators, of the 6 national territories in an amount that is proportional to the population of each one. The lower house, or Popular Assembly, is formed by national representatives, known as Premiers, elected by the total population as a whole, and the number of which is also proportional to the country's population. As of 2022, there is one Premier for every 15,000 citizens. Premiers and Senators both have a term of 6 years, and general elections occur every 3 years in turns. All legislators will run for elections as either part of a political party or as independent.

The law-making process in the Yeosan Islands starts in either one of the chambers of Parliament, when a legislator or coalition proposes a bill to the chamber. Once a bill is proposed, it must obtain a quorum in order to move to the other half of Parliament, this means more than half of the present chamber must vote in favor of the proposed bill. Shall a quorum be reached, the bill is passed to the remaining chamber, where the same voting system is held. If quorum is reached in both chambers, the bill is then passed to the President, who has the power to either veto or pass the bill as a law. Aside from legislators, the President and Vice President can also propose bills, as well as any citizen granted they comply with the existing requirements.

Judiciary

 * Main article: Judiciary of the Yeosan Islands

The Judiciary of the Yeosan Islands is a fairly small branch of government when compared to the Legislature and the Executive. This branch comprises a Supreme Court formed by eight judges known as Magistrates, all of whom are directly appointed by Parliament and approved by the Chief of the Yeosan Islands. The Magistrates are in charge of interpreting and applying all laws passed at Parliament, and dictating fitting punishments in the event the law is broken. The Supreme Court is located in the capital city of Saekung, however, in an attempt to reach all of its citizens, every island is home to a High Court, created to serve the purpose of, without replacing, the Supreme Court across the entire country. High Courts are formed by four judges each, called Senior Judges, who are specifically instructed to act in direct correspondence with the Magistrates.

Every court in the county is categorized into two: Courts of Appeal, and Courts of Query. Courts of Appeal are the where all cases are presented at the first instance, and more often than not, they will all be resolved within the Court of Appeal, however, in cases where a case is wished to be contested even after its initial resolution this is done in the Courts of Query, specifically designed to go over and analyze all disputed cases. The Supreme Court and the High Courts, though categorized as Courts of Query, are also listed as "courts of last resort", meaning that a case could be presented on the first instance to the Supreme Court but only in matters of national urgency or public demand.

Geography

 * Main article: Geography of the Yeosan Islands

The Yeosan Islands is an archipelago comprised by eleven volcanic islands located on the West Tethy Ocean, by which is surrounded on all sides, and lying entirely on the line of the. Nearby are Tiperyn's and Akiteiwa's Komishima Islands to the west, and Chezzetcook's Iles Saint Croix to the east. The islands have a total surface area of 19,478 km2 (7,520 sq mi), making it the 124th largest country by total land area, and the 4th smallest country in the Kesh continent after Ellora, Kitoko, and Shimakawa. The islands, stretching from west to east, are categorized into two groups: the Major Islands to the west, and the Minor Islands to the east, separated by the Strait of Yonggil.

Because of its location south of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the islands are receptors to wind coming from their southeastern side, making this side of all the islands more humid and prone to precipitation, while casting a minor rain shadow effect on the northwestern side of the archipelago, making it drier in comparison. Because of this, the biggest concentration of flora on the island nation is concentrated on its southern side, which is also where most of the population is settled. Due to the islands' location, seasonal change is virtually non-existent, as the temperature remains stable all year round. Instead the country experiences changes in humidity.

Located between the convergent boundaries of the Akitei Plate and South Tethys Plate to the northwest, and the Boreal Plate and South Tethys Plate to the northeast, the Yeosan Islands is subject to a consistent frequency of earthquakes, raging anywhere from 0 to 7-8 in the Richter Scale, with the largest numbers being far less common. The islands are also, though in much less frequency, exposed to possibility of tsunamis. The largest earthquake to have reached the islands took place a few miles north off the easternmost island of Cheunam in the territory of Geunsam in the year 1996, reaching 8.2 on the Richter Scale, after which the country entered a state of tsunami alert. The Yeosan Islands is also lying directly over a volcanic hotspot, signifying a constant overflow of magma and lava that is dumped into the ocean from the country's volcanoes.

Economy

 * Main article: Economy of the Yeosan Islands

The Yeosan Islands is a, with a total GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of $82.885 billion, and a GDP (PPP) per capita of $62,911. As of 2020, the service sector makes up the largest contributor to the total GDP at nearly $58.831 billion (70.98%), followed by agriculture at $15.333 billion (18.5%), and industry at 9.531 billion (11.5%).

The history of the Yeosan Islands' economy can be traced through a succession of dominant industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, tourism and education. Since its transition into a republic in 1952, tourism has been the largest industry, contributing up to 34.6% of the GDP in 1992, despite efforts to diversify. The country's gross output for 2023 was $68 billion; per capita income for Yeosan Islands residents in 2020 was $62,911. Yeosani exports include food and clothing, however these industries play a small role in the Yeosani economy, due to the shipping distance to viable markets, such as the eastern states of Kesh and Artemia. The country's food exports include coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, sugarcane and honey.

By weight, honey bees are about the country's most valuable export. According to the Yeosan Islands' Ministry of Agriculture, agricultural sales were $280.9 million from diversified agriculture, $150.8 million from pineapple, and $84.1 million from sugarcane. The Yeosan Islands' relatively consistent climate has attracted the seed industry, which is able to test three generations of crops per year on the islands, compared with one or two on the mainland. Seeds yielded $315 million in 2017, supporting 5,200 workers.

As of December 2015, the national unemployment rate was 3.6%. Due to the geographical isolation, the Yeosan Islands has been considered one of the most expensive places to live, taking into account factors such as increased travel costs for flights, additional shipping fees, and the loss of promotional participation opportunities for customers outside mainland Kesh. Certain online stores in the continent won't ship to the Yeosan Islands, and oftentimes, citizens must get their packages delivered to Akiteiwa, to then later be brought back to the islands by mailing companies who will charge an extra shipping fee. Despite having one of the largest GDPs per capita in the world, the Yeosan Islands has fallen victim over the years of an increasing wage gap in its population.

Tourism

 * Main article: Tourism in the Yeosan Islands

For much of its modern history, the Yeosan Islands has always relied on tourism as its main source of income. As of 2018, the tourism industry represented nearly 70% of the service sector at nearly $45.255 billion, or nearly half of the country's total GDP. Tourism became increasingly common in the country during the 1970s, as the Yeosan Islands not only began to gain international recognition, but also to be included in political and economic discussions as the Tethys Ocean became an important factor in international politics.

At the start of the 1980s, the Ministry of Tourism of the Yeosan Islands began to mass produce commercial and printed touristic ads to be broadcasted and distributed in the mainland as to draw in tourists from East Kesh nations, such as Kodeshia, Beifang, and Akiteiwa. However, the "touristic boom" didn't occur until the 90s decade, when the country saw increasingly large waves of citizens from parts of the world that the government hadn't tried to cater to. Due to its location on the Equator, and lack of a seasonal change, the Yeosan Islands receives tourists all year round from both hemispheres.

As the tourism industry grew in size and income, the government of the Yeosan Islands started what were known as Host Projects, that consisted of expanding the capacity of the large cities to harbor not only its residence but also tourists. Today, all major cities have the physical space to accommodate up to 10,000 extra people, with the biggest example of this being the city of Hwayang, which, during low touristic season, loses up to 15% of its population.

Demographics

 * Main articles: Population of the Yeosan Islands, Languages of the Yeosan Islands

As of 2020, the Yeosan Islands had a total population of 1,317,494 people, 90% of whom lived in the territories of Ilsan and Hangu. The country's official language is, spoken by everyone in the country with very few little exceptions. Despite being one of the smallest nations in population and surface area, the Yeosan Islands is the only sovereign island nation in the Tethys Ocean.

Population
The last census in the country took place in October 2020, ten years after its previous census in 2010, and it was conducted by the Department of Population, part of the Ministry of Homeland. Censal results tend to take between one and two weeks to be publicly announced due to the often delayed communication in between the islands, and the insistence from the government to keep the process manual as opposed to electronic. Almost 1,082,000 people live in the islands of Ilsan and Hangu alone, making up for nearly 90% of the total population, with the remaining 10% living in the rest of the islands, most of whom are concentrated on the territories of Jeongseom and Jeonyeok.

Religion

 * Main article: Heuksaeng, Michigami

The Yeosan Islands has two official religions: Heuksaeng and Michigami. Heuksaeng is the native religion of the Yeosan Islands, with around 89% of the population adhering and practicing it on a daily basis. Michigami is the major religion of Akiteiwa, and it was introduced to the Yeosan Islands during colonial times. About 8% of the population follows this religion, particularly those of Akitei origin. The remaining 3% are comprised of irreligious persons, or those adhering to other East Keshian religions, such as Daoism or Confucianism.

Heuksaeng
Heuksaeng, from the Yeosani word 흙생 (meaning 'life of the earth') is the main and native and religion of the Yeosan Islands. It's a polytheistic religion based around the idea of sentient nature and. Followers of Heuksaeng pray and pay their respects to the Order of the Eight Gods, each of which represents a different aspect of nature, society, and life (Life, Death, Health, Wealth, Crops, Voyages, Peace, and Conflict). In its beginnings, people would worship the Gods in temples the second of each month, to ask for the blessings of the following month, and although this remains a common practice among the most orthodox followers of the religion, most people have adopted a more “casual” approach, praying and asking for a specific God in a given situation (e.g.: praying to the God of Voyages before a trip).

The head of Heuksaeng is the Gathering of Bukko, an eight-people group consisting of the descendants of the Witnesses of Bukko. The Witnesses are the first group of people to have seen the Eight Gods' doing, a trait that is believed to be passed down in hereditary fashion. The Witnesses formed the Gathering of Bukko sometime around the year 800 BCE, named after the location of the sighting, and wrote the book of Malsaeng, the text that acts as the main source for religious texts in Heuksaeng. Since the death of the first Witness, their direct descendants have been taking over their position in the Gathering for centuries. The deities of the Heuksaeng pantheon are the following:

At its core, Heuksaeng seeks to pay tribute to the Gods it believes in through prayer, offerings, sacrifice, festivities and religious acts. Haeng people (followers of Heuksaeng), believe that nature is to be protected and sacred as to not anger the Order of the Eight, and that this will grant Luck to the faithful in turn. Unlike in most western civilizations, the concept behind Luck in Heuksaeng isn't perceived in correlation with, but instead as an accumulative quality that any person can have and that it increases with the years, as long as one remains faithful, and that will draw experiences to the individuals, be it positive or negative, based on the Divine Plan the Gods have for each person. This, in turns, creates the societal and cultural idea that is essentially non-existent, and that all people have a predetermined path to follow, one that's been decided by their Gods.