Joseon Cybernation
Joseon Empire (대)조선국 (Korean) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
.svg) Coat of arms
| |
Motto: "Let the world be enlightened!" | |
| Status | Self-proclaimed cyberstate, recognized by Antigua and Barbuda |
| Official languages | All languages[1] |
| Recognised national languages | English Korean[lower-alpha 1] |
| Demonym(s) | The Joseon People[1] |
| Government | Direct democratic constitutional monarchy[1]Template:Independent source needed |
• King | Andrew Lee |
| Matt Kim[2] | |
| Area | |
• Total | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Currency | Mun [lower-alpha 2] |
.svg)
The Joseon Cybernation, known officially as the Joseon Empire,[3][4][lower-alpha 3] or colloquially referred to as Joseon, is a self-proclaimed cyberstate with limited recognition. It has no physical territory, and stylizes itself as a "cloud-based, blockchain-backed kingdom" that exists only in cyberspace that "represents the Korean diaspora worldwide" but "open to anyone who shares our views".[5]
Joseon was proclaimed in 2022 by American businessman Andrew Lee after he was adopted by Yi Seok, a pretender to the House of Yi, which ruled over the historical Joseon kingdom and the Korean Empire. In 2023, Joseon was recognized by United Nations member state Antigua and Barbuda, though "cyberstates" do not exist under international law.
History
According to Andrew Lee, Won Joon Lee, one of his distant relatives and grandson of a keeper of the House of Yi lineage, said that their clan was descended from Korean royalty; as the result, he was introduced to Yi Seok, a grandson of Emperor Gojong of Korea. Yi Seok is known as an active pretender to the former monarchy, but he has no male offspring, and he proposed adopting Andrew Lee as his heir, which Andrew was initially reluctant.[6] Regarding Andrew Lee's ancestry, Yi Seok has only stated that he was a descendant of Yi Seong-gye,[7] keeping said ancestry vague.[lower-alpha 4] In October 2018, Seok declared Andrew the crown prince of Korea at a ceremony in Los Angeles, attended by Bermuda premier David Burt, and city officials from Los Angeles and Jeonju.[9][10][11] Andrew Lee later took over Yi Seok's status as the claimant to the Joseon throne in 2022. By March 2022, Lee announced the founding of a "non-territorial successor state to the Joseon Empire", a cloud-based, blockchain-backed kingdom with himself as its ruler.[12]
In June 2023, the government of Antigua and Barbuda released a statement establishing diplomatic relations with the "Joseon Cybernation".[6][13][14] Previously, the government of the Joseon Cybernation had claimed to also have been in discussion with the governments of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[15] and Mongolia.[16]
As of July 2023, the son of Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne served as Joseon's "Vice Minister of State".[17] It has also been reported that cryptocurrency proponents Roger Ver and Mark Karpelès received the title of "duke".[18] Mike Honda, former US congressman, is also now working in the government as "Vice Minister of State" and "Emissary to the United States".[17]
Monarchs and Prime Ministers
| # | Portrait | Name | Period of reign | Prime Ministers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Andrew Lee (앤드류 리)[4] |
March 2022 – present | Philip Gahn (필립 간) (c. 2022 – March 13, 2025)[17] |
| Matt Kim (매트 김金) (March 13, 2025 – present)[2] |
See also
- Romanov Empire (micronation), attempt by a claimant of Russia's throne to make a micronation
- Dominion of Melchizedek, claimed itself as the first micronation to have been recognized by UN member states
Notes
- ↑ Per the whitepaper, companies which have owners that the majority of which pass a Korean language proficiency exam are entitled to nearly a third of Mun in supply.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Korean".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Korean".
- ↑ ETtoday suggests a potential blood relation via "similar facial structures between Lee and the Gwangmu Emperor",[8] however it is unknown where this information surfaced from or whether if this information is correct.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Joseon: A Sovereign Nation". August 4, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Joseon Fighting". soj.ooO. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Imperial Family of Korea". www.imperialfamily.kr. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lee, Andrew. "조선 | Joseon - Cyber Nation State". joseon.cloud (in 한국어). Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Joseon". Joseon. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yang, Jeff (February 3, 2024). "The Fresh Prince of Joseon: How a Crypto Mogul Became a Korean Royal Heir—and Formed a Digital Kingdom". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Team, The Korea Daily Digital (April 12, 2023). "Interview with the Emperor Gojong's direct descendant Lee Seok". The Korea Daily. Archived from the original on July 18, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ETtoday新聞雲 (December 6, 2020). "永遠的君主！南韓「皇太孫」霸氣買下加州1260萬美元豪華泳池別墅 | ETtoday房產雲 | ETtoday新聞雲". house.ettoday.net (in 中文). Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ↑ Mendoza, Ken (March 8, 2021). "Real life K-drama: how did Andrew Lee go from tech entrepreneur to crown prince of Korea? Before he was named 'nominal emperor' Yi Seok's successor, he founded VPN service Private Internet Access – and made millions". Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ↑ Smith, Nicola (December 29, 2018). "Californian techie becomes Korean crown prince in fairytale twist". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Chung, Monica Younsoo (October 27, 2018). "Andrew Lee, the Prince of Korea plans launching Imperial Fund to invest for Korean small businesses". Korea IT Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Staff, The Royal Observer (May 9, 2023). "A New Era of Royalty: Harnessing the Power of Sovereignty for Positive Change". The Royal Observer. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Joseon" (PDF). GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Antigua and Barbuda Establishes Diplomatic Relations with Cyberstate". Antigua News Room. July 8, 2023. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "St. Vincent, Antigua, and Joseon collaborate to create thriving businesses and a brighter future". X. May 5, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Last week, Ambassador KJ Yoo met with the Mongolian Government to discuss each nation's various digital initiatives!". X. September 2, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Emmanuel, Robert (July 13, 2023). "The digital dynasty: Joseon PM speaks about benefits to country". Antigua Observer Newspaper. Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Tomlin, Bennett (December 19, 2023). "Duke Roger Ver becomes finance minister for Joseon". Protos. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
External links
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