Korea's monsoon season to begin next week

By Ko Dong-hwan

An ocean wave breaks high against a breakwater behind a bridge near Seogwipo Port on Jeju Island, Sept. 5, 2022, weeks before Typhoon Hinnamnor reached the country's southern regions. Yonhap

This year's monsoon season will start on Sunday when southern parts of the country are expected to be soaked, followed later by northern regions, the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Thursday.

The clouds will move north to Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and other cities and provinces in interior regions of the mainland on Monday, dropping heavy rain. The overcast conditions will again descend down to the country's southern regions and Jeju Island from Monday to Tuesday.

The onset of the monsoon season is triggered by warm and humid air moving closer to the country, according to the KMA. The downpour will affect the lowlands, agricultural areas, valleys, rivers and streams with flooding. This will cause groundwater levels to rise, the authority warned.

Seoul sees this year's monsoon season on schedule with previous years, as it usually begins around June 25. Jeju Island, however, will see it begin later than usual. The region previously started experiencing seasonal rains around June 19.

The KMA said that starting next Tuesday, heavy rains can be expected across the country on a frequent basis. June 29 and 30 will see the entire country being soaked in heavy downpours.

Records show that the monsoon season usually ends around late July.

But last year the country saw historic floods due to Typhoon Hinnamnor in September, coming in from the south, directly hitting Busan and dropping heavy rain for three consecutive days across the country. It killed 12 people mostly in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.