Geung Peninsula

The Geung Peninsula is a geographical feature in the northwest corner of Tairghol. The entirety of the peninsula is part of the Kingdom of Huon Sa.

## Geography

The peninsula is mostly grassy and flat, making it perfect for the dairy industry that Huon Sa uses it for. There is a low range of hills along the spine of the peninsula, with the larger elevations at the base near the Huon Range. On the peninsula itself, the largest hills are no more than around 300 m above sea level.

At the tip of the peninsula is an archipelago of small islands, the Jagseum Islands, which are separated from the mainland by the Hagusa Inland Sea. These are similarly flat, and experience heavy flooding during the wet season due to their low-lying nature.

There are several other islands on the eastern side of the peninsula in Turquoise Bay, where the peninsula protects them from the ocean swells that batter the western coast.

It is widely accepted that the limits of the peninsula are the Huon Range in the south, and the Yang River in the east.

## History

Before human arrival, the Geung Peninsula was not entirely devoid of life. The Geung Mountainfolk, a subset of the People, inhabited the southern reaches of the peninsula.

In 800BCE, the Vasterlands Fleet bypassed the peninsula on its way to the Persidian Sea, haemorrhaging settlers as it went. The twenty ships of the Korean Group decided to make the peninsula its home, naming it 'Geung Nala', 'The Lord's Peninsula'. This referred to the leader of the group, Yi Sunsin.

Unlike most other settlers on the continent, the Koreans concentrated themselves into several settlements instead of spreading out. They founded the modern towns of Chuncho, Kuchon, Jecheon, and Jonglyo, as well as Huiseong, Sanyi, and Linggeup, which no longer exist.

The Koreans, or the Huons as they came to be known, faced hostility from the Geung Mountainfolk. Within two hundred years the situation devolved into war, with the Geung Mountainfolk being forced off the peninsula and into the Huon Range over the course of fifty years and several campaigns. This was costly for the Huon, with the towns of Huiseong, Sanyi, and Linggeup being wiped out. The final campaign, led by Lee Senryeong, was brutal enough to ensure the Geung Mountainfolk never ventured out again. Since that time, nearly a thousand years ago, the Mountainfolk have only left the mountains three times, barring any possible incursions during the Great Gap.

The Huon then focussed on growth and, later, trade. Jecheon, Chuncho, and Kuchon made contact with the Armenians of what is now Amruiv and Hysis, creating a confederation of settlements that would become known as the Turquoise Bay City-States.

The town of Jonglyo, located on the very tip of the Geung Peninsula, took a different approach. The town had been abandoned during the Settlers' War, and the population had relocated to the Jagseum Islands. They never left, becoming known as the Bae Namja. Over time they became known as a strong but unforgiving seafaring culture, developing practices such as blood sacrifice. The Bae Namja slowly resettled the tip of the Geung Peninsula during the 3rd Century BCE, resettling Jonglyo and founding Ikwang and Wongeup.

The Turquoise Bay City States reached critical mass at around the year 0, and many rich traders funded pioneering expeditions to the deserted eastern coastline of the peninsula. This resulted in the foundation of Huisong in the year 40, and Mancho twenty years later. Huisong founded its own satellite town, Gangseong, in 125, and the towns of Kuyeong and Manyong were also founded in 130 and 165 respectively.

By around 130, the City States began to hear stories of the wealth of the Blue River civilisations. they desired to profit from this new wealth, so the pioneers became more adventurous and founded three cities on the barren, desolate western coast - Posong in 150, Sunsu in 170, and Chuncheon in 175. These served as way stations for ships making the journey to and from the Blue River delta.

Over the next couple of centuries, more towns were founded on the peninsula, such as Ponan, Yeocho, and Huichon. The settlers crept closer inland, and by the time of the Great Gap most of the coastline had been settled.

Following the Gap, things on the peninsula had markedly changed. The Bae Namja had entirely disappeared, their settlements on the islands destroyed entirely and the populations of their mainland holdings vastly decreased. A similar population decrease occurred in most other settlements on the peninsula.

Every member town of the Turquoise Bay City States west of the Yang River had coalesced into a single entity - the Kingdom of Huon Sa. The fact that these city-states coalesced, and the Vadyan cities of the confederation did not, is one of the major arguments for defining the border of the peninsula as it is.

The new government of Huon Sa was much more militaristic than the City States had been. A border was set running from Turquoise Bay to the Huon Range, and all the land within that border was marked by Huon Sa as its territory, whether settled or not. It then began an intensive program of settlement. Over the next two hundred years, the majority of the important settlements on the peninsula were founded.

Since then, the peninsula has been fairly stable. The only events of real importance have been the Sack of Jesong, the Raid on Huoyeu, and the Raid on Ling Hill - all of which were instigated by the Mountainfolk.