Cho Hwi

Cho Hwi was a Korean soldier who originally served Goryeo but defected to the Mongol Empire in 1259. Appointed by the Mongols as the General Superintendent of the Ssangsŏng Prefecture, created from the former northeastern territory of Goryeo seized by the Mongols, Cho Hwi and his descendants would maintain hereditary rule over the prefecture until its reconquest by Goryeo nearly a century later in 1356.

Biography Cho Hwi was a native of Yongjin-hyŏn, Goryeo (modern-day Munchon, North Korea). He was the son of Cho Chisu , the progenitor of the . In January 1259, the Mongols invaded Goryeo's northeastern region of Tongbungmyŏn. Tongbungmyŏn military commissioner Sin Chipp'yŏng attempted to move civilians who had fled to Chŏdo to Chukto . Chukto was narrower than Chŏdo and had no wells. In response to Sin's actions, Cho Hwi, along with T'ak Ch'ŏng led a rebellion, killing Sin Chipp'yŏng and other Goryeo officials. They then surrendered all Goryeo territory north of Hwaju to the Mongols. On January 9, 1259, the Mongols created Ssangsŏng Prefecture, appointing Cho as the General Superintendent and T'ak as a chiliarch.

As the General Superintendent, Cho took a hostile stance against Goryeo. When Goryeo sent Junior Colonel Kim Kisŏng as an envoy to the Mongols, 30 of Cho's men killed the Goryeo envoys at Munju. He aided Mongol forces on an attack against the Goryeo fort of Han'gye but was repulsed by Special Supervisor of Defense An Hongmin . In 1271, Cho helped rebels in the Yangju capture the local magistrate. Cho was succeeded as the General Superintendent of the Ssangsŏng Prefecture by his son, Cho Yanggi .