A bypasser makes his way through heavy snow in southwestern Seoul, South Korea, 12 January 2021. (Photo by Yonhap/EPA/EFE)





A currency trader watches computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, January 22, 2021. Asian stock markets retreated Friday after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in China and a rise in cases in Southeast Asia. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





Workers wearing protective gears disinfect chairs as a precaution against the coronavirus at the arrival hall of the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Monday, December 28, 2020. South Korea has confirmed its first cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. (Photo by Kim Sun-woong/Newsis via AP Photo)





A woman takes photographs of falling snow from a window during a heavy snowfall, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, January 12, 2021. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





People walk by a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a ruling party congress, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Kim opened his country's first ruling party congress in five years with an admission of policy failures and a vow to set new developmental goals, state media reported Wednesday. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





An aerial view shows the frozen Han River amid a cold wave, in Seoul, South Korea, 10 January 2021. (Photo by Yonhap/EPA/EFE)





Young people wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus ride bicycles at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, January 24, 2021. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





Ryu Han-na poses for photographs before undergoing nose plastic surgery at WooAhIn Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul, South Korea, December 17, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





A medical worker in a booth rests during COVID-19 testing at a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, January. 2, 2021. South Korea is extending stringent distancing rules for two more weeks as authorities seek to suppress a viral resurgence, while confirming its first case of an apparently more contagious coronavirus variant detected in South Africa. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





A statue symbolizing a wartime s*x slave is displayed near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, January 8, 2021. A South Korean court on Friday ordered Japan to financially compensate 12 South Korean women forced to work as s*x slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, the first such ruling expected to rekindle animosities between the Asian neighbors. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





A health worker wearing a protective suit enjoys the falling snow at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea on January 12, 2021. (Photo by Yonhap via Reuters)





Christians inside their cars pray during a drive-in worship service amid measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at Songgok high school in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, January 17, 2021. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





People watch a TV screen showing the news on a violent mob that loyal to U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, January 7, 2021. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





People queue in line to wait for coronavirus testing while maintaining social distancing at coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, December 26, 2020. (Photo by Hong Hyosik/Newsis via AP Photo)





A photo taken on January 10, 2021 shows a general view of traffic passing over a bridge above the frozen Han river, before the Seoul city skyline. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





Pastors wearing face masks sit among empty benches during an online Christmas service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul on December 25, 2020 amid precautions due to the Covid-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je/AFP Photo)





A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus prays at the Jogye Temple in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, January 20, 2021. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





Gray mullet which froze to death during the recent cold wave are seen at a farm in Muan, South Korea, January 11, 2021. (Photo by Yonhap via Reuters)





A medical worker wearing protective gear takes samples from a woman during a COVID-19 testing at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea on December 12, 2020. South Korea had seemed to be winning the fight against the coronavirus: Quickly ramping up its testing, contact-tracing and quarantine efforts paid off when it weathered an early outbreak without the economic pain of a lockdown. But a deadly resurgence has reached new heights during Christmas week, prompting soul-searching on how the nation sleepwalked into a crisis. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





Members of Plates and Fitness Business Association bow during a rally demanding the government to allow the reopening of their businesses amid tightened social distancing rules against the pandemic in front of the ruling Democratic Party headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, January 12, 2021. South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday said the government will offer COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone free of charge in phased steps. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)