Kon Tum, city in the central highlands, south-central Vietnam. In 1851 Roman Catholic missionaries established a settlement near Kon Tum, at a site 140 miles (225 km) south-southeast of Hue. Lying at an elevation of 1,720 feet (524 metres), the city is a traditional trading entrepôt for hides, horses, and sesame, and it ranks with Pleiku as one of the two most important highland centres in the country. Linked to Pleiku, 45 miles (72 km) to the south, by a major highway, it has several hospitals and a large airfield. A secondary highway leads northeastward from Kon Tum through Chuong Nghia and Kon Plong. Pop. (1999) 58,064; (2009) 86,362.