Coldest day of the season grips South Korea

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?C and a sensible temperature of nearly -22?C, the KMA said.

The weather agency said inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon Province saw the temperature drop to morning lows of -20?C and -26.3 ?C, 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 am, mountainous areas on the southern resort island of Jeju had received up to 75.9 centimetres of snow, the KMA said.

Many flights on the island have been cancelled 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.