Busan to Seoul 7 Hours 50 Minutes... Afternoon Nationwide Highway Congestion in Various Areas

On the 24th, the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, the number of homebound vehicles increased near Suwon Singil IC on the Gyeongbuk Expressway heading toward Busan (left side). / Suwon - Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] On the afternoon of the 25th, Lunar New Year's Day, long traffic jams occurred on most highways nationwide, causing drivers heading home, to ancestral rites, or returning to endure slow traffic.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, the estimated travel time from major cities to Seoul Tollgate by passenger car at 1 p.m. is 7 hours 50 minutes from Busan, 6 hours 50 minutes from Mokpo, 6 hours 30 minutes from Gwangju, 7 hours from Ulsan, 6 hours 30 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours 30 minutes from Gangneung, and 4 hours from Daejeon.

The estimated travel time from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide is 7 hours 40 minutes to Busan, 5 hours 50 minutes to Mokpo, 5 hours 40 minutes to Gwangju, 7 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours 10 minutes to Daegu, 4 hours 20 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours 40 minutes to Daejeon.

As of noon, the total length of traffic congestion on the Gyeongbu Expressway is 88 km toward Seoul and 65 km toward Busan.

On the Seohaean Expressway, traffic flow is slow over 21 km toward Mokpo and 70 km toward Seoul, and on the Seoul Ring Expressway, congestion is heavy over 50 km toward Guri and 61 km toward Ilsan.

Traffic congestion in the direction of returning home is expected to be worst around 3 to 4 p.m. and to ease by 11 p.m. or midnight on the 26th.