Chuseok return traffic expected to peak at 4 and 5 p.m. on Saturday
The Korea Expressway Corporation expects Seoul-bound traffic to clear by 2 to 3 a.m. on Sunday. Outbound traffic is also expected to peak around 4 to 5 p.m. on Saturday before easing at 7 to 8 p.m.
Vehicles inch along the Gyeongbu Expressway in both directions near the Jamwon Interchange in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 25, the day of the Chuseok holiday.
NEWS1
Traffic jams are flooding Korea’s major highways on Saturday, the third day of the Chuseok holiday, as travelers both leave and return to Seoul, with congestion expected to peak between 4 and 5 p.m.
As of 9 a.m., the Korea Expressway Corporation estimated that travel times to Seoul’s tollgates from Busan to be 7 hours; 6 hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan; 6 hours and 30 minutes from Mokpo, South Jeolla; 6 hours from Daegu; 5 hours and 20 minutes from Gwangju; 3 hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, Gangwon; and 2 hours and 30 minutes from Daejeon.
Trips out of Seoul were shorter: 5 hours and 10 minutes to Busan, 4 hours and 50 minutes to Ulsan, 4 hours and 10 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo and Gangneung, 3 hours and 20 minutes to Gangneung and 1 hour and 40 minutes to Daejeon.
With returning traffic building since early morning, movement on some northbound stretches has already slowed. On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Seoul, traffic crawled along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) stretch from the Oksan Junction to near the Cheongju rest area.
On the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway toward Yangpyeong, a 5-kilometer traffic backup formed between North Chungju and the Chungju Junction.
Outbound congestion, however, eased from the previous day.
The corporation expects Seoul-bound traffic to peak in the late afternoon but clear by 2 to 3 a.m. on Sunday. Outbound traffic is also expected to peak around 4 to 5 p.m. on Saturday before easing at 7 to 8 p.m.
About 5.9 million vehicles are expected on the nation’s highways on Saturday, including 380,000 leaving the Seoul metropolitan region and 520,000 heading toward the area.
Inside Seoul, traffic has moved relatively smoothly. Major roads, including the Olympic Expressway, Gangbyeon Expressway, Inner Ring Road, Dongbu and Seobu Arterial Roads and Gangnam Ring Road, showed no significant congestion in the morning, according to the city’s traffic information system.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
