Jinhae-gu

Jinhae 진해
—  District  —
Korean transcription(s)
- Hangul	진해구
- Hanja	鎭海區
- Revised Romanization	Jinhae-gu
- McCune-Reischauer	Chinhae-gu
Port in Jinhae
Emblem of Jinhae
Country	South Korea
Region	Yeongnam
Administrative divisions	15 dong
Area
- Total	120.19 km2 (46.4 sq mi)
Population (2010)
- Total	172,000
- Density	1,431.07/km2 (3,706.5/sq mi)
- Dialect	Gyeongsang

Jinhae (formerly known as Chinhae) is a district in Changwon City, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring.

The city front is on a sheltered, island-studded bay, and is almost completely surrounded by mountains covered with pine trees.

The emblem of Jinhae contains a cherry blossom.

History

Jinhae was developed as a naval base (Chinkai Naval Station) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Japanese occupation period in the early 20th century.

In December 2009, the city council approved a proposal to merge with Changwon and Masan, to form a yet-to-be-named city of over one million people. The city councils of the other two cities have also approved the merger, which would bring national funds to the metropolis through an existing law to aid cities of over one million population. The Provincial Council of South Gyeongsang Province must approve the merger. A decision is expected in the penultimate week of December. ^[1]

Economy

The city is primarily supported by the Korean Naval personnel and their families or people working for the Republic of Korea Navy shipyard and base facilities. Today, Jinhae hosts major naval facilities of the South Korean Navy including Commander-in-Chief Republic of Korea Fleet (CINCROKFLT) and the Naval Academy.

Jinhae is part of a large urban corridor that links the adjacent cities of Masan and Changwon. These three cities merged as one in 2010. Hence the name "Jinhae-gu" instead of "Jinhae-si".

Moreover, the city is also host to the only US Naval base in Korea, US Naval Fleet Activities, Chinhae.

Sister cities

• Annapolis, Maryland, USA
• Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
• Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile

See also

• Changwon
• Euichang-gu
• Seongsan-gu
• Masan-Hoiwon-gu
• Masan-Happho-gu

References

1. ^ Cho Ji-hyun, "Three Cities in the South Go for Integration," the Korea Herald, December 12, 2009, pp. 1 and 4.

External links

• City government website

Coordinates: 35°09′N 128°40′E / 35.15°N 128.667°E / 35.15; 128.667