Danguk

Danguk (Dang: 龍人 Danguk) officially known as the Dang People's Republic (Dang: 龍人民共和國 Danguk gongmin kyowaigug) is a soveriegn island nation located in the Sea of Japan in East Asia. The Name Danguk, comes from the archaic Dang words meaning 'Dragon' and 'People.' The characters which form the name also mean 'Dragon' and 'Folk'. The name is derived from the myth that Danguk was the origin of all dragons. Danguk borders Japan to the South, North Korea and Russia to the North, and South Korea to the West across the Sea of Japan. Danguk has a population of almost 24 million people as of 2014, with over 5 million living in the Chionin Metropolitan Region alone. The official language is Dang, which is a language isolate, however closely related to Korean and Japanese. Danguk is a ethnically homogenous nation, inhabited by the Dang People since 2000 BC, and the island has a long history of both ethnic and political unity, only ever being ruled by one political entity at a time.

Danguk has been inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic Period. The Dang People's civilisation began with the founding of the Kingdom of Dang in roughly 2000 BC, which ruled over the entirity of the land that now constitutes Danguk. The island enjoyed successive centuries of tranquility and prosperity under subsequent Dang Dynasties which allowed cultural and technoligical development to flourish through trading with China, Korea and Japan and limited contact with European trading powers. In the late 19th century when it became part of the Japanese Empire, until its defeat in 1945. Danguk was put under Soviet Occupation and became a puppet state, until 1952 when a revolution against the brutal communist regime established a Socialist State. The state modelled itself after liberal socialist regimes in Europe. The United Nations passed a statute which made the Dang People's Republic the only legitimate government of Danguk following attempts by the Soviet Union to back a second regime change during the 1960's.

Danguk is a Single-Party Socialist State which officially abhors Communism, and is one of two left in the world, the other being Westland. Political power in Danguk is divided between the Danguk Socialist Party and its affiliate Labour and People's organisations. The People's Government functions in the form of a Parliamentary Republic. Danguk's government is led by a President, who is appointed by the Socialist Party administration. The current President, is Jiyon Injong. The unicameral legislature of Danguk, the People's National Assembly, consists of 455 members, who are elected directly by the public in free and fair elections. Only members of the Socialist Party or its affiliate organisations may stand for election however. The leader of the Socialist Party is the General Secretary, who has acts as Prime Minister.

Danguk is a developed country, with a total GDP Purchasing Power Parity of $700 billion, and a GDP Per Capita of $29,865. Danguk is the world's 23rd largest economy, and is a member of the World Trade Organisation. Danguk's economy is decidadly collectivist, socialist and anti-capitalist, however allows for an extremely limited form of free enterprise. All major economic sectors and industries are fully nationalised, with the exception of the growing service industry, which has been fueled by free market reforms and an increase in the importance of money in the state's society. Nationalisation has allowed production and resources to benefit society as a whole, and be evenly distributed.

Danguk is a culturally and ethnically homogenous nation, with the Dang People being the dominant and sole native ethnic group. Danguk's cultural development was closely related to other Asian countries such as Korea and Japan, and involves rich traditions which are still eminated in modern society and highly influenced by Confucianism. The main driving force in Dang society is the ideology of Onmyok, which relates to the states socialist and collevitist ideologies and the ancient Ying Yang path of Taoism which advocates interdependance. Danguk also has a strong modern popular culture influence, which has challeneged age-old traditions in recent decades. Danguk is a generally irreligious society, which has been enforced by the socialist regime, as religious activity is discouraged, however tolerated by the Socialist Party. Religious fundamentalism and Intolerance is regarded as an illegal acitivity.

Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement in Danguk is handled by the centralised Police Force (Dang: 警察 gyoncha). The Police Force is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior's Department of the Police. The Police of charged with the responsibility of upholding the Rule Law of Danguk and maintaining Public Order. Danguk police do not routinely carry firearms, and they are only carried by specialist firearms units. Police officers on the beat are routinely equipped with a truncheon and pepperspray as standard. The Police Force is organised into 7 Provincial Units which police their respective provinces and a managed by the Central Police Unit which is headquartered in Chionin.

Administrative Divsions
Danguk is divided into 7 Provinces (省 Kan), which are the highest level administrative division. Provinces are further sudivided into Districts (區 Ku) which are then divided into Settlements (鎮 Gesai). Provinces co-ordinate major things, such as local Healthcare, Education and Law Enforcement, while Districts deal with smaller issues. Settlements consist of towns and villages and retain only very local power on minor matters. Additionally, a Provincial Level City, such as the major cities of Chionin, Gyuku and Chumchi, are Settlements, that are large and populous enough to be considered a province. There are three Provincial Level cities in Danguk.

Geography
Danguk is located North East Asia in the North Temperate Zone. Danguk borders Russia to the North, China to the West, and Japan to the South across the Sea of Japan. Danguk's highest point is Gyu Mountain at 1,933 meters (6,342 ft). Highlands dominate most of the territory of Danguk, primarily being open stretches of flat arable land. There are comparatively well-preserved fragments of the ancient volcanoes in the area. The ranges are cut by picturesque narrow and deep valleys of rivers and by large brooks. A large area of Forest Steppe characterises the northern less inhabited regions.

The majority of the population of Danguk resides in the South, around the capital of Chionin and the major cities Gyuku and Chamchi. Other population concentrations are along the coast on the Sea of Japan where several major port cities are located and on the shores of Lake Hanka which forms a large industrial conurbation. Northern regions in the Jyochi Province are the most sparsely populated, due to scarcity of arable land and harsh winters.

Ethnicity
Danguk is a homogenous nation, consisting of a single native ethnic group, known as the Dang People. Danguk has long been in a state of ethnic unity, however the increase in the number of foreign residents has challeneged this unity. Influxes of immigrants during 20th century has meant there are significant Chinese, Japanese and Korean communities, however they recieve no official recognition. The government, particularly the Department of Immigration, has often been accused of making it difficult for immigrants to enter the country to live and work as to keep ethnic unity strong.

As of 2014, 98% of the population of Danguk are East Asian, of which can be further divided into 94% native Dang People, 2% Japanese, 1% Chinese and 0.5% Korean, and 0.5% other. A further 1% are Caucasian or White, 0.5% Other Asian and 0.5% Black.

Language
The sole official language of Danguk, is the Dang Language, commonly known as Dang, or Dangtian, it is a language isolate however shares common bonds and similarities with Korean and Japanese. It is written with Chodai (書法) which are borrowed Chinese characters. The Dang Language is sole language in official usage in Danguk, as there is no recognition of other non-native minority languages. Other commonly spoken languages in Danguk include Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Japanese, by immigrant groups on the island. English is taught from Primary Education in schools.

Religion
Danguk is a generally irreligious society. Religious beliefs and worship are discouraged by the state, however are not illegal. Religious fundamentalism and Zeal are however seen as illegal and subversive activities and are punishable under the Dang Penal Code. Historically, Danguk has been a Buddhist country for many centuries. Confucianism when described as a religion, over ideology, has also been a powerful driving force in Dang spirituality. In modern times, many Dang people see religion as a thing not to be taken seriously, however it can be noted that Dang people are very superstitious, even those considering themselves as atheists.

As of 2014, over 67% of Dang people describe themselves as irreligious, or actively atheist. 29% of people state they are a Buddhist, 2% Christian, 1% Taoist, 0.5% Baha'i and 0.5% Muslim.

LGBT Rights
Danguk is known to be one of the most tolerant states in East Asia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. There is a long history of homosexuality in Dang culture and it is very visible in society unlike many other Asian cultures. It has long been tolerated and even sometimes celebrated and there were no specific laws pertaining it. Homosexuality was criminalised in the early 20th century while Danguk was under Japanese Occupation, and the criminalisation continued under the Soviet Union's influence of Danguk as a puppet state. It was later decrminialised once again in 1956 following the Onmyok Revolution and freedom from Soviet oppression.

Since 2003 Danguk offers legal recognition of same-sex couples through Civil Partnerships. However there have been little to no attempts to legalise same-sex marriage, as many believe there is no reason to, as marriages in Danguk are seen only as legal agreements between lovers, with little religious importance, many do not even choose to marry. However there is also little opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Culture
Danguk's cultural development has been closely related to other East Asian nations such as Japan and Korea. Danguk has a long and rich history or development in literature, art and scholarship. Confucianism and the Taoist ideologies of Onmyok were, and still are, two of the main driving forces in Danguk's society and culture. Under the Socialist regime artistry and scholarship is highly encouraged, and as a result Danguk has a highly productive and dedicated work ethic.

Dang people as a nation are known to be very superstitious, even those considering themselves to be atheists. Superstition is deeply ingrained in society, with correct etiquettes and certain ways in which activities must be carried out so as to avoid bad luck. Additionally, the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui is a highly important force in Danguk, many buildings are constructed to allow the harmonisation with surrounding environment and people organise their homes to be true to Feng Shui principles.