Seoul shivers: Korea in grip of biting cold, no relief in sight [PHOTOS]

Icicles hang from a fountain at a hotel in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo

A cold snap is holding sway over the Korean Peninsula as freezing air from the eastern tip of Russia creeps south.

The mercury fell to as low as minus 8 degrees Celsius in Seoul on Tuesday morning and is expected to hit minus 9 degrees on Wednesday. At Mount Seorak, in Gangwon Province, the temperature plummeted to minus 20 degrees on Tuesday morning, a record low for the season.

The cold weather is expected to grip the nation throughout next week, Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) officials said.

Snow falls in Gyorae Street on Jeju Island, Tuesday. / Yonhap

"A blast of cold air rolled into the northwest, dropping temperatures to a record low in some areas due to nocturnal radiation," a KMA official said.

Snow is expected in Seoul on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Part of the west coast and Jeju Island had big snowfalls on Tuesday morning and are expected to have more (about eight centimeters) in coming days.

Part of the east coast and the southern coast are expected to have snow of up to five centimeters by Wednesday morning.