Korea will be gripped with a cold spell on Thursday, with morning lows in the central regions dropping to around -15 degrees Celsius. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the mercury will plunge lower on Friday, but will start to recover from Tuesday afternoon, after the Lunar New Year holiday.

"A biting wind chill factor will make it feel more like -17 degrees Celsius or colder," said the KMA.

"There will be strong winds until Friday morning, with most parts of the country seeing sub-zero temperatures."