Donghae City

This article is about the South Korean city. For the body of water called such by South Korea, see Sea of Japan.
Donghae
동해시
Municipal city
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul 동해시
 • Hanja 東海市
 • Revised Romanization Donghae-si
 • McCune-Reischauer Tonghae-si
Flag of Donghae
Flag
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
Coordinates: 37°31′29″N 129°06′51″E
Country South Korea
Region Gwandong
First official recorded 102 AD
City established April 1, 1980
Administrative divisions 10 dong
Government
 • mayor Kyu eon Sim (심규언)
Area
 • Total 180.01 km2 (69.50 sq mi)
Population
 (October, 2022)
 • Total 89,421
 • Density 521.61/km2 (1,351.0/sq mi)
 • Dialect
 Gangwon
Area code +82-33
Climate Cfa

Donghae (Korean: 동해; Korean pronunciation: [to̞ŋ.ɦɛ̝]) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. There are two major ports: Donghae Harbor and Mukho Harbor. The city is located on the Yeongdong Line railroad and the Donghae Expressway. Numerous caverns are found in the city, as in neighboring Samcheok. Hanzhong University was located here.

Location

Donghae is located in the central region of the east coast of Korea in Gangwon-do. Jeongseon county to the west and Gangneung city to the north. It contains the southern terminus of the Donghae Expressway, and the No. 7 national way passes through the city.

The city is mostly mountainous and has natural resources such as Mureung Valley and beautiful beaches. Here, the high Taebaek Mountains lie along the eastern coast, preventing rivers from meeting the coast. However, in the rainy season, spontaneous water flow is possible.

Climate

Climate data for Donghae (1993–2020 normals, extremes 1992–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.1
(61.0) 		23.7
(74.7) 		26.9
(80.4) 		32.6
(90.7) 		33.5
(92.3) 		35.2
(95.4) 		37.1
(98.8) 		37.0
(98.6) 		34.2
(93.6) 		29.7
(85.5) 		24.4
(75.9) 		18.4
(65.1) 		37.1
(98.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7) 		7.0
(44.6) 		11.2
(52.2) 		16.7
(62.1) 		21.1
(70.0) 		23.4
(74.1) 		26.6
(79.9) 		27.6
(81.7) 		23.8
(74.8) 		19.7
(67.5) 		13.7
(56.7) 		7.7
(45.9) 		17.0
(62.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0) 		2.8
(37.0) 		6.8
(44.2) 		12.2
(54.0) 		16.6
(61.9) 		19.6
(67.3) 		23.2
(73.8) 		24.1
(75.4) 		19.8
(67.6) 		15.1
(59.2) 		9.3
(48.7) 		3.4
(38.1) 		12.8
(55.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −2.8
(27.0) 		−1.4
(29.5) 		2.4
(36.3) 		7.7
(45.9) 		12.5
(54.5) 		16.5
(61.7) 		20.5
(68.9) 		21.1
(70.0) 		16.2
(61.2) 		10.7
(51.3) 		5.0
(41.0) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		9.0
(48.2)
Record low °C (°F) −14.0
(6.8) 		−13.7
(7.3) 		−6.9
(19.6) 		−1.4
(29.5) 		3.5
(38.3) 		6.0
(42.8) 		12.2
(54.0) 		14.4
(57.9) 		8.3
(46.9) 		−0.1
(31.8) 		−6.2
(20.8) 		−11.9
(10.6) 		−14.0
(6.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 46.4
(1.83) 		44.0
(1.73) 		57.6
(2.27) 		72.3
(2.85) 		63.3
(2.49) 		105.9
(4.17) 		230.8
(9.09) 		227.2
(8.94) 		219.8
(8.65) 		102.9
(4.05) 		71.6
(2.82) 		22.5
(0.89) 		1,264.3
(49.78)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 5.6 6.1 8.5 8.3 8.8 10.7 14.4 14.8 12.1 7.9 7.3 4.1 108.6
Average snowy days 5.1 4.0 3.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.4 14.6
Average relative humidity (%) 47.6 52.2 56.4 58.8 67.0 77.8 82.1 82.3 79.0 67.2 56.5 46.0 64.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 188.1 181.0 202.3 211.9 221.3 179.7 155.0 163.4 165.3 190.3 172.6 188.3 2,219.2
Percent possible sunshine 58.1 58.8 52.5 52.9 47.4 38.6 32.3 37.3 43.5 54.0 56.2 61.9 48.2
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (snow and percent sunshine 1981–2010)

Symbols

  • Tree: Ginkgo tree
  • Flower: Red Prumusumume
  • Bird: Seagull

Free industry zone

Donghae area and its neighborhood are a free industry zone. From this, Gangwon province and Donghae city has overtaken team for investment.

Cruise ferry

A cruise ferry line connecting Russia, South Korea and Japan opened in the summer of 2008. DBS Ferry currently transits between Donghae, Sakaiminato, Tottori and Vladivostok.

Tourism

  • Mukho harbor
  • Mureung Valley
  • Cheongok caves
  • Mangsang Beach
  • Yakcheon village
  • Samhwa temple

Sister cities

Donghae City has the following sister cities:

See also