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| A woman bundles up against the cold in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap |
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| Cars are covered with snow in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
Bone-chilling cold gripped Korea Thursday ― but the worst is yet to come.
More ferocious winter weather will hit the country Friday. Temperatures will drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius in Seoul in the morning. Temperatures in other regions will not be much higher, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Temperatures in PyeongChang, host city of the Winter Olympics, and Chuncheon, in Gangwon Province, are forecast to reach minus 19 degrees at their lowest.
In Daejeon and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, temperatures are expected to drop to minus 13 degrees. Temperatures in Daegu and other cities in North Gyeongsang Province will stay between minus 15 degrees and minus 2 degrees.
In the southern area ― South Gyeongsang Province and South Jeolla Province ― emperatures will also stay at zero or below for the whole day. Even on Jeju Island, temperatures will hover around freezing.
Temperatures will warm up slowly after Friday.
Between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, heavy snow fell in the southern region, disrupting traffic.
According to the Korea Airports Corporation, 10 international flights were canceled and 59 other flights (eight international and 51 domestic) were delayed at Jeju International Airport because of snow. The airport suspended operations for two and a half hours (8:33 a.m. to 11 a.m.) to remove the deep snow on runways.
In North Jeolla Province, more than 200 traffic accidents were reported to police between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning after roads became slippery. But there were no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
Police have advised drivers to take extra care.
The KMA has also advised people to pay particular attention to their health during the cold snap.
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