Global InformationWihwado Retreat information
| Coup of 1388 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Insurgents led by Gen. Yi Sŏng-gye and Gen. Cho Min-su |
 Goryeoled by Gen. Ch'oe Yŏng | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Yi Sŏng-gye Cho Min-su |
King U Ch'oe Yŏng | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 troops | 5,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Turning back the army from Wihwa Island (Korean: 위화도 회군; Hanja: 威化島 回軍) refers to the 1388 episode in which General Yi Sŏng-gye of the Goryeo dynasty was ordered to march north with his army and invade the Liaodong Peninsula (northeast China, which was under the control of the Ming dynasty), but instead decided to turn back to Kaesong and stage a coup d'état.[1]가
General Yi Sŏng-gye had gained power and respect during the late 1370s and early 1380s by pushing Mongol remnants off the Korean Peninsula and also by repelling well-organized Japanese pirates in a series of successful engagements. He was also credited with routing the Red Turbans when they made their move into the Korean Peninsula as part of their rebellion against the Yuan dynasty. Following the rise of the Ming dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang, the royal court in Goryeo split into two competing factions: the group led by General Yi (supporting the Ming dynasty) and the camp led by his rival General Ch'oe (supporting the Yuan dynasty).[2]
When a Ming messenger came to Goryeo in 1388 (the 14th year of King U) to demand the return of a significant portion of Goryeo's northern territory, General Ch'oe Yŏng seized the opportunity and played upon the prevailing anti-Ming atmosphere to argue for the invasion of the Liaodong Peninsula (Goryeo claimed to be the successor of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo;[3] as such, restoring Manchuria as part of Korean territory was a tenet of its foreign policy throughout its history).
King U ordered General Yi to invade Liaodong Peninsula and attack the new Ming dynasty army in support of the Mongols, despite the General's protest.[4] General Yi gave four reasons why conquering Liaodong was impossible (Korean: 사불가론). The four reasons were (1) the small cannot go up against the big (meaning a small state like Goryeo cannot win a war against Ming, the big state); (2) the military should not be mobilized in the summer; (3) sending vast troops to the north would create an opportunity for the Japanese pirates to invade and pillage Goryeo villages; and (4) a national military campaign during a monsoon season is prone to arrows and bows coming unglued (due to humidity) and infectious diseases. In 1388, Yi arrived at Wihwa Island on the Amnok River, also known as the Yalu River, and realized that the Ming forces outnumbered his own. Instead of pressing on with the invasion, he made a momentous decision, commonly called "withdrawing the army from Wihwa Island", that would alter the course of Korean history. Knowing of the support he enjoyed both from high-ranking government officials and the general populace, and with the great deterrent of Ming Empire under the Hongwu Emperor, Yi decided to revolt and swept back to the capital, Gaegyeong, to mount a coup d'état and wrest control of the government. This was the first in a series of Yi's rebellious actions that eventually led to the founding of the Joseon dynasty.[5] Yi's son, Yi Bang-won, who later became Taejong, the second king of Joseon, evacuated Yi's family during General Yi's coup. Formed in July 1392, Yi's dynasty lasted until October 1897, when it was replaced by the Korean Empire.
In South Korea, the Wihwado retreat is often used as an analogy of an army marching toward the capital to mount a coup.[6][7]
- ^ "[Herald Interview] 'Hunminjeongeum' oratorio sings of how Hangeul was created". The Korea Herald. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "조선군을 약화 시키려는 명나라의 압박외교" [Pressure Diplomacy of the Ming Dynasty to weaken the Joseon Army]. OhmyNews (in Korean). 22 March 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "EP.46 조선 건국의 기초가 된 사건 '위화도 회군' [키워드 한국사]" [EP.46 'Wihwado retreat', the event that became the basis of the founding of Joseon [Keyword Korean history]]. Sisun News (in Korean). 4 October 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Cho Min 조민 (2007). "고려말(高麗末)-조선초(朝鮮初) 국내정치지배세력(國內政治支配勢力)의 대중인식(對中認識)" [Diplomatic Relations with China in the Period of Late Goryeo and Early Chosun Dynasty]. The Journal of Northeast Asia Research (in Korean). 22 (2): 55–76.
- ^ Hwang, Kwang Moon (2017). A History of Korea. Palgrave Essential Histories (2 ed.). London: Palgrave. p. 52.
- ^ "'러시아 쿠데타' 바그너의 행진, 위화도 회군보다 3배 멀어" ['Russian coup' Wagner's march, disgrace is 3 times farther than the Wihwado retreat]. Grobal Economic (in Korean). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "바그너그룹, 러시아로 회군... '푸틴의 요리사'는 왜 푸틴에게 이빨을 드러냈나" [The Wagner Group retreat to Russia... Why did 'Putin's chef' show his teeth to Putin?]. Culture News (in Korean). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.