FREEZING WEATHER IN GANGWON-DO PROVINCE

[Anchor Lead]

The nation has been gripped by a cold spell from yesterday. The temperature particularly dropped in the Gangwondo region, with Cheorwon-gun County seeing almost negative 40 degrees with windchills.

[Pkg]

Hantangang River in Cheorwon, the northernmost area in Gangwondo Province. The 80 meter wide and three meter high Jiktang Waterfall has turned into a huge ice wall amid the coldest weather so far this winter. The completely frozen river landscape is nothing short of a winter wonderland.

[Soundbite] Jeong Sang-mi(Seoul resident) : "It is so cold. But the waterfall is amazing and Cheorwon is beautiful so it’s worth it."

Only a few people are out and about in downtown Cheorwon due to freezing temperatures. Those who have ventured out are fully layered up from head to toe. But the bitter cold still seeps in, making people hunch and shrink. On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, traditional markets are virtually empty.

[Soundbite] Choi Min-cheol(Vendor) : "There should be more customers before and after the holiday but the cold wave is preventing that."

Some travelers who visited their hometowns for the holiday had to deal with car problems as the deep freeze affected batteries and the engine would not start.

[Soundbite] Kim Jae-soo(Car mechanic) : "It’s gotten cold so suddenly. Many customers are from out of town, I believe more than 20."

Gangwondo Province and most parts of the country are frozen like a Popsicle under Siberia-like extreme weather conditions.