city, on Chinhae Bay, Kyŏngsang-nam do (province), southern South Korea. Its picturesque natural harbour is protected by Kŏje Island and Kosŏng Peninsula. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) the Japanese navy used it as a base of operation, and it has since been developed into a naval port. The headquarters of the South Korean navy and the South Korean Naval Academy are located there. Chinhae is connected with Pusan and Masan by rail and regular shipping lines. Because of its scenic beauty and its cherry blossoms, it has also developed as a tourist city. Industrial developments include fertilizer and thermoplastic resin plants constructed in the late 1960s. Pop. (1990 prelim.) 120,207.