Vehicles are seen in traffic congestion on a highway leading to Wonju, Gangwon, on Sept. 24.NEWS1
Highways across Korea were heavily congested on Friday morning as millions of people hit the road for family visits and return trips on Chuseok, with some journeys between Seoul and major cities expected to take more than nine hours.
As of 10 a.m., the estimated travel time from the Seoul tollgate to Busan was nine hours and 10 minutes, according to the Korea Expressway Corporation. Trips from Seoul were expected to take seven hours to Mokpo, eight hours and 50 minutes to Ulsan, eight hours and 10 minutes to Daegu, six hours and 30 minutes to Gwangju, four hours and 40 minutes to Gangneung and three hours and 50 minutes to Daejeon.
An official is seen at a traffic command center inside the Korea Expressway Corporation's situation room in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Sept. 24.NEWS1
Traffic heading toward the capital was similarly heavy. Travel to Seoul was expected to take nine hours and 10 minutes from Busan, seven hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, eight hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan, eight hours from Daegu, seven hours and 20 minutes from Gwangju, three hours and 50 minutes from Gangneung and three hours and 40 minutes from Daejeon.
On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic was backed up for 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) between the Dongtan junction and the area near Namsa and for 18 kilometers between Cheonan and the area near the Cheonan Hodoo rest area.
Vehicles were moving slowly for 19 kilometers between Gangil and the area near Seojong on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang.
Traffic on the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway toward Wonju was backed up for 10 kilometers between Dongyangpyeong and West Wonju and for 12 kilometers between Heungcheon Ipo and Daesin Tunnel.
The Korea Expressway Corporation expects outbound traffic, which began building Thursday, to peak between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Friday before easing between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. the same day.
Traffic returning toward the Seoul metropolitan area is expected to be heaviest between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and ease between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Saturday.
An estimated 6.84 million vehicles are expected to use expressways nationwide on Chuseok, including 470,000 traveling from the greater Seoul area to other regions and 460,000 heading into the capital region, according to the corporation.
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.
