Anchor: The nation officially entered monsoon season on Wednesday amid one of the worst droughts in recent memory. The national weather agency says the annual front has traveled north, bringing rain to Jeju Island and South Jeolla Province on Wednesday morning. The central region is expected to see monsoon rains from Friday. However, the rain will not likely be of immediate help in relieving the prolonged dry spell.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: With the nation suffering from its worst drought in 38 years, the summer monsoon season began in the nation's southwestern regions on Wednesday.
 
The southwestern province of South Jeolla as well as Jeju Island off the nation’s southern coast saw monsoon showers from Wednesday morning after the annual front moved north.
 
The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that Jeju Island will see 30 to 80 millimeters of rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday while South Jeolla Province will be hit with between 20 and 60 millimeters.
 
The rain front is expected to travel further north toward the center of the peninsula and reach southern coastal regions on Thursday followed by the central region on Friday.
 
However, the weather agency said that as the front is expected to remain mostly south of the Chungcheong provinces in the western and central regions, little relief will be brought to drought-hit areas such as Gangwon Province in the mid-eastern part of the peninsula.
 
The agency projected the monsoon front will move southward before returning north and affecting most parts of the nation next Tuesday or Wednesday.
 
The agency said that next month’s rainfall will be slightly lower or at levels similar to previous years. In August, the nation is expected to see a modest increase in rainfall compared with an average year.
 
So far this year, Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul Metropolitan area have received only 56 percent of the average annual precipitation, while eastern Gangwon Province has seen just 36 percent. In order to relieve the prolonged drought, weather experts say the areas need to receive between 100 and 200 millimeters of rain.
 
An official of the weather agency noted that July typically sees the heaviest rainfall, adding that even if there is less precipitation than previous years, once the monsoon season ends, the drought in the central region is expected to be alleviated.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.