South Korea is experiencing continuous severe cold, with temperatures in many areas falling below -10 degrees Celsius, while heavy snow falls in the southern provinces and Jeju Island. Authorities have issued warnings for several regions.
On 2 January 2026, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that a severe cold wave still covered the entire country on Friday, causing temperatures to drop sharply along with heavy snowfall in many southern areas, including South Jeolla, North Jeolla provinces, and Jeju Island.
The Korea Meteorological Administration stated that at 08:00, the temperature in Seoul was -11.2 degrees Celsius, Incheon -11.4 degrees Celsius, Gwangju -7 degrees Celsius, and Busan -6.1 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, some areas in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul, Gangwon Province to the east, and the northeastern parts of North Gyeongsang Province saw temperatures near -15 degrees Celsius. Daytime highs are expected to range between -5 and 4 degrees Celsius. The cold wave is expected to continue until Saturday morning before temperatures slightly rise later in the day due to a shift in wind direction toward the east.
At the same time, authorities issued heavy snow warnings for the western parts of South Jeolla and North Jeolla provinces, Jeju Island, as well as Ulleung and Dokdo islands in the east. Data at 08:00 indicated that Ulleung Island had accumulated 30.1 centimeters of snow, Samgak Peak on Hallasan Mountain in Jeju had 13.3 centimeters, and Jangseong District in South Jeolla Province had 12 centimeters of accumulated snow.
Source: Yonhap