Coup successful The Wihwado Retreat, or 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.

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.

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.

Formed in July 1392, Yi's dynasty lasted through independence from tribute to China and the establishment of the Korean Empire in October 1897, finally coming to an end upon Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910.