Korea has 4 different seasons. Korea's climate is regarded as a continental climate from a temperate standpoint and a monsoonal climate from a precipitation standpoint. The climate of Korea is characterized by four distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Spring (Late March~May)
It's very warm and quite dry weather.
There are various flowers, including the picturesque cherry blossoms, covering the nation's mountains and fields during this time.
Things to Do:
Walk under cherry blossoms, go on picnics with a yummy lunch box, go to a mountain to hike or plant a tree, flowers. etc
Summer (June~Early of September)
It is a hot and humid time of the year. Also, it is a rainy season with pouring rain for about 3~4 days. Sometimes, a big typhoon comes to the Korean peninsula and it damages a lot, especially the lower-ground towns and villages.
Things to Do:
Go swimming, to the Sea, tan on the beach or riverside, eat plenty of various fruit, take a great summer vacation (3day~1week) Careful not to be bitten by many mosquitoes.
Autumn (September~November)
It produces mild weather. It is the best season for visiting Korea.
Things to Do:
Go to the mountains and see a lot of colorful leaves, pick up chestnuts, take a trip to wherever, enjoy Korean Thanksgiving day - Chu-Seok
Winter (December~Mid of March)
It can be bitterly cold during this time due to the influx of cold Siberian air. Snow in the northern and eastern parts of Korea makes favorable skiing conditions.
Things to Do:
Go skiing (snowboarding) at a resort and Ice Rinks, have a Christmas & New-Year's Day party (Solar and Lunar), have a campfire with friends or families, Go to a In-door Amusement Park. Make sure to bring a winter coat, boots and gloves! (lotteworld : http://www.lotteworld.com/eng/index.jsp) and etc.
2007 set to become hottest year
This year is set to break all records in highest global temperature stakes, according to climatic research experts in Britain. Based on predictions made by Britain's leading experts in climatic research published in the Independent, a United Kingdom daily, the previous high temperature records set in 1998 will likely be broken during 2007.
In 1998 the global average near surface temperature deviated by more than 0.5 degrees Celsius from the 30-year average taken between 1961 and 1990. Although the global average near surface temperatures have increased rapidly since the late 1970s, the British experts predicted that in 2007, continuing patterns of rising temperatures caused by global warming will be accentuated by El Nino leading to record breaking temperatures.
El Nino, defined as a sustained increase in sea surface temperature of more than 0.5 degrees Celsius across the central Pacific Ocean, is a phenomenon which affects the world's climate on irregular intervals of two to seven years. "Scientists have been unable to determine the cause of the phenomenon but we do know it is a naturally occurring event which has been taking place for a very long time," said Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute's principal research scientist Lee Jae-hak. According to Lee, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are normally much lower than that of the western Pacific Ocean, this difference is significantly reduced during an El Nino event.
"The changes in sea surface temperature disrupt the normal climatic patterns with potentially devastating effects," said Lee.
Lee added that El Nino occurs independently of global warming and that it is unclear how the two phenomena interact. Aside from its interactions with the green house effect, El Nino has been associated with extreme weather conditions such as floods and droughts. The phenomenon is also responsible for unseasonably high temperatures in various parts of the world. According to the Independent, the last severe El Nino which took place between 1997 and 1998 was responsible for more than 2,000 deaths and $39 billion worth of damage across the world.
In the El Nino Update published by the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization, the sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific has increased by 1.5 degrees Celsius. The WMO report indicated that while the current El Nino is relatively moderate, such events have been known to generate severe climatic changes.
The report added that the effects of El Nino are being enhanced by unusually low surface temperatures in the western equatorial Pacific and the Indian Ocean, causing severe weather conditions in the former. Yun Won-tai, the director of Korea Meteorological Administration's Climate Prediction Division, said the record breaking temperatures seen in 1998 were facilitated by an El Nino event of unprecedented intensity.
"Because global warming has increased in recent years, it is highly likely that even a moderate El Nino event will have a devastating effect on the global climate," he said.
Yun explained that the El Nino phenomenon has economic implications for the country.
"A warmer winter would mean less expenditure on fuel but heavy snows and rains caused by the phenomenon leads to expensive relief operations for the government," he said.
"We are expecting a generally warm winter but we cannot be certain of El Nino's effect over the entire duration of 2007," said Kim Seung-bai, Weather Information Service Officer at the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Kim added that El Nino may act to increase the year's average temperatures to record high levels, but the more serious factor in climate change is global warming. He said that if the fundamental issue of global warming is left unaddressed, the rise in average temperatures is inevitable.
