Koryoan

The Koryoan people were an ethnicity of humans who lived in the land of Koryo in Kara-Tur. They were decendants of the ancient Han people. The Koryoans formed the kingdoms of Silla, Koguryo, and Saishu, later provinces of the Empire of Koryo in the 14th century DR. They were sometimes nicknamed "Cold Koryoans".

Language
They spoke the Koryo language. It descended from the ancient Han language and its vocabulary comprised many words evolved from that tongue, as well as loanwords from Wa-an and Kao te Shou that had been borrowed over centuries. Owing to its similarities, it was easy to find Koryoan translators for many languages, though few learned Kozakuran, owing to enmity between the peoples.

Description
The Koryoan people tended to have black hair and high cheekbones, and had moderate heights and builds; they most closely resembled the people of Chukei province in northern Shou Lung.

Attitudes
They were a proud folk, known to be fearless in a fight and exuberant in a celebration. However, the people were molded by a history of war and invasion and of living under threats of such. They were always alert, but tended toward xenophobia, preferring to trust a fellow Koryoan over a stranger. It wasn't unknown for one to wrongly blame a foreigner for some crime, rather than suspect or doubt one of their own people.

Culture
Koryoan folk of both genders commonly wore linen tunics and pants, all in white. These served as their daily work-wear. Silk was expensive and hard to come by, so only the wealthiest could afford it; rich women normally wore ornate satin dresses with silk veils. Warriors usually wore a heavy padded armor that kept them warm in winter.

Noble scions could be kept cloistered in family mansions, learning such things as calligraphy, courtly etiquette, languages, and poetry. Many were sent at a young age to military academies, where they learned the arts of war, armed and unarmed martial arts, history (especially military history), animal husbandry, geography and other knowledge of the kingdom, and meditation, as well as calligraphy and courtly etiquette. Koryoans of all classes and walks of life tended to learn history.

All Koryoan men trained in the "foot and fist" martial art of tae kwon do, which had a number of different styles and forms. Archery was also commonly practiced and respected, and treated as a competitive art. Koryoan warriors could be heroic and stalwarts defenders of the homeland, trained to hold firm against being overrun by onrushing enemies. Some were hardy folk, as resilient and rugged as the mountains, and especially hard to kill.

According to Shou Lung sources, Koryoan culture was only slightly influenced by Shou culture.

Relations
The Koryoans bore a great enmity for the Kozakuran people, their culture, and even their language, thanks to a history of holding off and repelling Kozakuran invaders, but had launched at least one attempted invasion of Kozakura themselves in the mid–14th century under a king of Silla. Trade with Kozakura was banned and its currency was not accepted; nevertheless, criminals maintained an illicit trade with that land.

The Koryoans also regularly beat back invasions by the wild tribes of the northern Koryo Peninsula.

The Koryoans were on peaceful terms with neighboring Wa, with Wanese traders and their currency seen in Koryoan ports. Meanwhile, Koryoan merchants, sailors, workers, and dignitaries appeared in Nakamaru in Wa.