Kindergartens and elementary schools in southern parts of South Korea closed Monday as the country braces for a massive typhoon that battered neighboring Japan.

Typhoon Bolaven, which is moving towards the Korean Peninsula at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, is projected to make a landfall on South Korea's southernmost island of Jeju later in the day and reach the southwestern port city of Mokpo early Tuesday morning.

The typhoon, with wind gusts reaching 259 kilometers per hour, is said to be the most powerful typhoon to hit the Korean peninsula in a decade.

With public officials on standby around the clock, a typhoon alert has been issued in waters off Jeju and access to local beaches and mountains is temporarily banned. Up to 500 millimeters of rain were forecast for the next two days on the island.

Authorities have said torrential rainfall as heavy as 50 millimeters per hour will hit Seoul Tuesday afternoon. Schools in the capital city will be closed for a day.