Coldest day of the season grips nation

A citizen heads to work with an umbrella from an apartment in Gwangju on the morning of Dec. 23. [YONHAP]

Korea witnessed the coldest day of the season on Friday, with the morning low plummeting to minus 13.6 Celsius in Seoul, the state weather agency said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the freezing temperatures were accompanied by heavy snow in the southern part of the country, including the Chungcheong and Jeolla areas, and the southern resort island of Jeju.

In Seoul, morning lows plummeted to minus 13.6 Celsius and a sensible temperature of nearly minus 22 Celsius, the KMA said.

The weather agency said inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon Province saw the temperature drop to morning lows of minus 20 Celsius and minus 26.3 Celsius, respectively.

The extremely cold weather occurred across the country under the influence of high pressure, which is expected to continue until Christmas which falls on Sunday.

Also, heavy snow fell in the southern part of the country for the second day in a row on Friday, causing car accidents, road closures and flight cancellations.

As of 6 a.m., mountainous areas on the southern resort island of Jeju had received up to 75.9 centimeters of snow, the KMA said.

Many flights on the island have been canceled over the past two days, according to airport officials.

The operation of passenger ferries linking the mainland to the island have all been cancelled due to strong wind advisory, transport officials said.

Heavy snow advisories were issued for the southern part of the country, including the Chungcheong and Jeolla areas, the KMA said.

Snow piled up on roads, causing car accidents.

Many schools in North Jeolla Province decided to take steps to cope with the cold weather by adjusting hours of commuting to and from schools or holding remote classes.

Yonhap