[Photo] Han River freezes over at earliest date in 71 years

The last time the Han River froze over this early in the season, Korea was still an undivided country. As a result of temperatures that have dropped to as low as 10 degrees below zero Celsius over the past five days, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced on Dec. 15 that the river had frozen over early that morning. The KMA made this announcement based on its observation of an ice sheet that stretched 100 meters from an area between the second and fourth pylon of the Han River bridge that leads into Noryangjin from the Yongsan District of Seoul. The first freeze took place 42 days earlier than last winter’s date (Jan. 26) and 29 days earlier than a normal year (Jan. 13). (provided by Korea Meteorological Administration)