Resan independence movement



The Resan independence movement ( Resazok Toklix́ Untong; Yeoseojok Dongnip Undong) is a  and  which seeks the creation of a  Resan state from Jeongmi and occasionally Fusen in either Resan-speaking areas or the entirety of Yeoseo.

Yeoseo existed autonomously and was the base of an independent kingdom from the 1200s until the early 1600s. The Kingdom of Anre was absorbed by Jeongmi and Fusen over the course of the 16th and early 17th centuries, ceasing to exist in 1604. Political campaigns for self-government began in the 19th century but were ultimately unrealized while the proportion of ethnic Resans in the region gradually decreased. Resans were the victims of atrocities and Resan-inhabited areas of Yeoseo and western Fusen were particularly devastated during the Great Eulhae War, leading to radicalization of and an increased desire for sovereignty by many Resans.

Nationalist sentiment among ethnic Resans ballooned in the 1990s following the Geombong nuclear accident, giving the independence movement a distinct bent.

Today, independence is supported by a limited number of ethnic Resans across the Yeoseo region, with concentrations in Hwaryong and Hwachang provinces. The main political organization for independence is the Yeoseo Party.

Kingdom of Anre
Yeoseo was first unified under the Kingdom of Anre in 1239. Prior to this, the island was home to a number of independent warring Resan and Jeongmian polities.

Conquest
The Kingdom of Anre underwent a gradual decline over the course of the 16th century, losing land to both Jeongmi and Fusen. It was finally extinguished by Jeongmi in 1604. Jeongmians and Fusenese migrated to these areas and increased their ethnic presence in historical Resan lands. By 1800, ethnic Resans were estimated to make up around two-thirds of Yeoseo's population.

19th and early 20th centuries
After its founding, the Republic of Jeongmi enacted a series of laws and created institutions which restricted the usage of Resan and encouraged the spread of Jeongmian identity among ethnic Resans.

The traditionally Resan areas of Yeoseo and western Fusen saw some of the heaviest fighting and devastation in the Great Eulhae War, with heavy civilian casualties. Ethnic Resans were heavily displaced and many fled to the mainland. Resan civilians had a death rate over twenty times that of the overall Jeongmian population, with atrocities committed on both sides. Fusen in particular developed a deep suspicion of ethnic Resans in the country's west and viewed them as a potential fifth column.

Resans who fought for Jeongmi developed a much stronger identity oriented toward Jeongmi.

Modern day
After the end of the Great Eulhae War, many Resans who had fled did not return to Yeoseo, while many ethnic Jeongmians migrated to the region. The 1945 census revealed ethnic Resans to comprise only 17.1% of Yeoseo's population. This number has decreased in every following census.

During and after the war, many Resans felt that Jeongmi did not do enough to protect Resans and was too willing to sacrifice Yeoseo and Resans for the wellbeing of Jeongmians. However, the also many Jeongmian Resans who fought in the Eulhae War felt an increased connection to Jeongmi. They believed that their connection to Jeongmi allowed them to win a war that would have been unwinnable with an independent Yeoseo. The ethnic Jeongmian population in Yeoseo had also fought valiantly against Fusen and were also subject to atrocities.

The Geombong nuclear accident in 1989 was the worst nuclear accident in Jeongmi's history and the poor governmental response catapulted nationalist sentiment among ethnic Resans in the Yeoseo region. Relations were further inflamed following statements deemed insensitive by Minister of Defense Go Cheol-min and the resignation of Ong Gal-seo, the first Resan Minister of Agriculture, who defected from the Conservative Party and joined the Yeoseo Party. Discourse surrounding independence centered primarily on Hwaryong and Hwachang, the provinces with the two highest proportions of Resans in Yeoseo. Additional discourse existed surrounding the possibility of guaranteed autonomy for Resans rather than on a territorial basis.

Hwaryong was granted the status of "autonomous province" in 1998 to ease demands for autonomy and independence. Autonomous status was additionally offered to Hwachang but was rejected in a referendum by the province's majority ethnic Jeongmian population.

Support
Support for an independent Yeoseo or an independent Resan state has been consistently low among Yeoseo habitants and ethnic Resans. Pro-independence tends to be relatively higher in Hwaryong, the only autonomous province in Jeongmi, but opinion polls in Hwaryong have never shown majority support for independence. Support for independence was highest in the 1990s, with support surpassing 40% in Hwaryong.

The Yeoseo Party has been the most successful political party in support of an independent Resan state, with four seats in the National Assembly.

Reasons for independence

 * Democracy and national self-determination: An independent Resan state would have full decision-making powers in regard to the affairs of its nation.
 * Cultural preservation: Knowledge of the Resan language has gone down consistently year by year and ethnic Resans are increasingly even more a minority in their own homeland. An independent Resan state would be able to better preserve its heritage, language, and culture.
 * Nuclear power plants: The 1989 Geombong nuclear accident in Hwaryong resulted in the closure of all nuclear power plants in the Yeoseo region and strong anti-nuclear sentiment in the region. The Chilsan Nuclear Power Plant in Hwachang province was put back into operation in 2007 despite strong opposition from locals. An independent Resan would be able to remove the nuclear power plants in the region.
 * Autonomous foreign policy: An independent Resa state would be a full and equal member of Congress of Nations, Sinju Union, and many other international organizations in which it takes part. Resan embassies could be established worldwide and the state would be able to promote Resan interests globally with an autonomous voice.

Opposition
The two major parties of Jeongmi, the Democratic Party and Conservative Party have both expressed opposition to any form of Resan independence. Any secession from Jeongmi requires the consent of the National Assembly and the President of Jeongmi. The Democratic Party has expressed in the past that it would be willing to respect the results of any Resan independence referendum. However, the Conservative Party has consistently stated that it would reject to consenting toward the secession of any part of Jeongmi.

Many newspapers have come out against Resan independence.

Reasons against independence

 * Strong cultural ties:
 * Economic disruption:
 * Foreign relations issues:
 * Currency issues:

Long-term prospects
There are no majority-Resan-speaking provinces in either Jeongmi or Fusen. While Hwaryong is home to a majority-Resan population, opinions polls have consistently shown majority support for union with Jeongmi. Sovereigntist sentiment in the province has decreased significantly since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The percentage of Resan speakers across all of Yeoseo has seen a consistent decline since the 19th century and the trend appears unlikely to reverse itself anytime in the future. Similarly, the percentage of ethnic Resans has been gradually decreasing across Yeoseo as migration from the rest of Jeongmi and international migration has reduced the percentage of Resans in the region. Furthermore, since the 19th century there has been a trend of increasing self-identification as Jeongmian by assimilated Resans. The children of mixed Jeongmian-Resan marriages tend to identify more with Jeongmian culture and langauge, with very low rates of Resan language acquisition. In the 2015 census, the percentage of those in the Yeoseo region identifying as ethnic Resan stood at 11.2%.

Legal mechanisms for secession in Jeongmi were clarified and expanded upon during the process of independence for Yondoku that was negotiated in the 1940s following the conclusion of the Great Eulhae War. Unlike the Yondoku case, however, there is no unified administrative division for all Resans in Jeongmi, with the only province designated for Resans being Hwaryong. Secession would require the consent of the population of the relevant area, whether Yeoseo or Hwaryong alone, as well as the consent of the central government in Ingyeong. In the 1990s, the Democratic Party, while expressing opposition to any form of Resan independence, nonetheless stated that it would be willing to accept an independent Resan state following the success of an approved referendum. The Conservative Party, on the other hand, has consistently expressed that it would never consent to any independent Resan state.

Unlike in Jeongmi, in Fusen there is no province home to a majority Resan population. The vitality of the Resan language is also significantly lower than in Jeongmi, despite modern attempts to revive usage and limited institutional support in western Fusen.