Goryeo escapees’, in the period of the war against the Mongols(1231~1259), refers to the Goryeo people who came back to the Ganghwa Island government(江都朝廷) from their Mongol detention(or stay), alive. Upon their return, in some cases they were wilfully used by the Military leaders in charge of the government in both political and military terms, yet in some other cases, they were deemed as important sources of information on the Mongol Court and the Mongol army, and they also caused some serious diplomatic incidents between Goryeo and the Mongol Empire.
There were several types of escapees who came back from the Mongol Empire alive. First, a person named Song Ib-jang(宋立章), who was part of a Goryeo envoy to Mongol, came back to the Ganghwa Island from the Liaodung province(遼東). He made a detailed report to the Goryeo government on Mongol General Sartai(撒禮塔)’s preparation for another proposed invasion. It is not clear whether such invasion was really considered or not, yet nevertheless his report was startling enough to prompt Choe Wu(崔瑀), the successor of the Choe-house Military Rule of Goryeo at the time, to relocate the entire capital of Gaegyeong city to the Ganghwa island.
Second, many POWs(prisoners of war) successfully fled from the Mongol army camps and returned to Goryeo. After their return, they were organized into a military unit called Shineui-gun(神義軍), established by the decision of the government ruled under Choe Hang’s authority(崔沆政權), in the 42th year of King Gojong(高宗)’s reign. Shineui-gun, together with Ya-byeolcho(夜別抄: Night Patrols)’s ‘Jwa’[-byeolcho](Left) and ‘U’[-byeolcho](Right) units, formed the Sam-Byeolcho(三別抄) Command. Commanders of Shineui-gun took active role in battles against the Mongols or took charge in diplomatic negotiations with the Mongol Emperor.
Third, Goryeo traitors who cooperated or collaborated with the Mongols, returned to the Ganghwa Island after shifting sides once again. They were debriefed as sources of military secrets and movements of the Mongol army, and they were also utilized in either diplomatic or military-psychological strategies. Yun Chun(尹椿), Min Ching(閔?) and Han Hong-bo(韓洪甫) were the most visual cases. In charge of the government, Kim Jun(金俊) made good use of them by handing Min Ching and Han Hong-bo over to the Mongol Emperor, as a token of his good will and also his desire for a peace negotiation with the Mongols.