A grey heron stands on a frozen Han river on a cold winter day in Seoul, South Korea on December 29, 2022. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





A burned out truck is seen at the scene in Gwacheon, South Korea, Thursday, December 29, 2022. A freight truck collided with a bus on a highway near Seoul on Thursday, causing a fire that killed multiple people and injuring dozens of others, officials said. (Photo by Shin Hyun-woo/Yonhap via AP Photo)





In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korean soldiers operate a vulcan automatic cannon during a military exercise in Yangju, South Korea, Thursday, December 29, 2022. South Korea staged large-scale military drills Thursday to simulate shooting down drones as a step to bolster its readiness against North Korean provocations, three days after the North flew drones into its territory for the first time in five years.(Photo by South Korea Defense Ministry via AP Photo)





A traveler walks near a banner for the coronavirus testing center at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Friday, December 30, 2022. South Korea on Friday announced that it will require travelers from China to show negative PCR test results within 48 hours or rapid antigen tests within 24 hours of their departures, beginning Jan. 5. (Photo by Ryu Young-suk/Yonhap via AP Photo)





South Koreans light candles at Jogye temple during the New Year Eve on December 31, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreans will celebrate in central Seoul after the New Year event was held without an audience for the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)





People celebrate New Year's eve in Seoul, South Korea on December 31, 2022. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





Buddhist faithful celebrate New Year's eve at a temple in Seoul, South Korea on January 1, 2023. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





People look at the first sunrise of the year at a park in Seoul, South Korea on January 1, 2023. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





Buddhist faithful take pictures as they celebrate New Year's eve at a temple in Seoul, South Korea on January 1, 2023. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





A woman arriving from China enters a COVID-19 testing center at the Incheon International Airport In Incheon, South Korea, Thursday, January 5, 2023. China suspended visas Tuesday for South Koreans to come to the country for tourism or business in apparent retaliation for COVID-19 testing requirements on Chinese travelers. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





South Korean Navy conscripts are taught how to grip their rifles by an instructor (wearing a red cap) ahead of a training session to learn individual combat skills at a boot camp in the southeastern city of Changwon, South Korea, 04 January 2023. In South Korea, all able-bodied young men are required to serve roughly 18 months of military service. (Photo by Yonhap/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A man smokes a cigarette as he sits in front of a mural depicting South Korean television host Song Hae (L) and US actress Marilyn Monroe (R) outside a cinema in Seoul on January 5, 2023. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)





A participant kisses a trout after catching it with his bare hands during a trout catching contest at a pool in Hwacheon, South Korea, Saturday, January 7, 2023. The contest is part of an annual ice festival which draws over one million visitors every year. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





A man casts a line through a hole drilled in the surface of a frozen river during a trout catching contest in Hwacheon, South Korea, Saturday, January 7, 2023. The contest is part of an annual ice festival which draws over one million visitors every year. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





Members of Construction worker unions (KCWU) shout slogans and benners reading “Condemnation of the Regiem” during a rally against government's Labor Policy near the Presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, 11 January 2023. The protesters gathered to rally for labor reform and better working conditions. (Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division participate in the EOD Team of the Year Competition at the training field of the Camp Humphreys on January 11, 2023 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. The Competition is to provide EOD leaders in the Korean Peninsula an accurate and holistic assessment of the overall performance and capability of EOD Team leaders and Team Members, identify areas of improvement and growth, and optimize EOD team arrangements. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)





People push a vehicle in snow on a highway in Gangwon Province's Pyeongchang, about 126 kilometers (78 miles) east of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, January 15, 2023. About 40 to 60 centimeters (16 to 23 inches) of snow fell in some areas in the eastern Gangwon regions. Elsewhere, on the Guri-Pocheon highway near the South Korean capital Sunday night, nearly 50 vehicles collided on an icy highway, killing at least one person and injuring dozens. (Photo by Yoo Hyung-je/Yonhap via AP Photo)





Firefighters battle a fire at Guryong village in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, January 20, 2023. About 500 South Koreans were forced to flee their homes after a fire spread through a low-income neighborhood in southern Seoul on Friday morning and destroyed dozens of homes. (Photo by Baek Dong-hyun/Newsis via AP Photo)





A woman hangs a ribbon wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas on a fence as she visit the Imjingak Pavilion, near the border with the North, to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Paju, South Korea, Sunday, January 22, 2023. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





People wearing South Korean traditional “Hanbok” costume watch a smartphone as they visit to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty, and one of South Korea's well known landmarks in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, January 22, 2023. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)