Delight and disruption as record November snowfall hits Seoul

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

Seoul residents awoke to a gleaming world of white this week, as record snowfall caused both disruption and delight across the South Korean capital.

The city recorded 16.1 centimeters (6.3 inches) of snow on Wednesday – the heaviest daily snowfall in November since records began in 1907, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The previous record, set in 1966, saw 9.5 cm (3.7 inches) of snow.

Further heavy snow fell throughout the day and overnight; by Thursday morning parts of Yongin city, south of the capital, had recorded 47.5 centimeters (18.7 inches) of snow, according to KMA.

Visitors wearing traditional hanbok dresses are seen on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace amid heavy snowfall in Seoul. Participants carry boxes of freshly made kimchi during a kimchi-making festival at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, held amid snowfall. Commercial buildings during the first snow of the season, in Seoul.

Photos of the capital show trees sagging under the weight of the snow, and Seoul’s iconic palaces blanketed in white. Residents bundled up in thick coats, with some throwing snowballs, building snowmen and reveling in the fluffy snow.

They weren’t the only ones enjoying the wintry wonderland.

The country’s first ever twin panda cubs – born to nationwide enthusiasm last July – were seen frolicking at the Everland theme park and zoo Wednesday, sliding down a snowy field. It was the cubs’ first time experience in snow after keepers kept them indoors last winter to protect them from the elements, Reuters reported.

But the snow also brought widespread disruption, with travel halted in many places and transportation services suspended.

A vehicle exits a tunnel as snow falls in Gimpo.

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