Most Traffic Flows Smoothly on Last Day of Seol Holiday... Congestion Clears Around 11 PM

Partial Congestion on Urban Entrances of Nationwide Expressways

On the afternoon of the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 12th, vehicles traveling northbound (left) and southbound (right) are moving near Jamwon IC in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 12th, most sections of the nationwide expressways are flowing smoothly, with congestion occurring only in some sections of the city entrance roads.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 5 PM on this day, the estimated travel time by passenger car from major city toll gates nationwide to Seoul is 5 hours from Busan, 4 hours 30 minutes from Ulsan, 4 hours from Daegu, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, 4 hours 40 minutes from Mokpo, 4 hours from Gwangju, and 2 hours 20 minutes from Daejeon.

Conversely, the travel time from Seoul to each city is 4 hours 30 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 30 minutes to Daegu, 2 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung, 4 hours to Mokpo, 3 hours 30 minutes to Gwangju, and 1 hour 50 minutes to Daejeon.

As of 5 PM on this day, some speed reductions are observed on the Gyeongbu Line heading toward Seoul, including sections between Yangjae and Banpo, Giheung and Suwon, and near Yeongdong 1 Tunnel.

Traffic congestion for vehicles heading home peaked around 3 to 4 PM and is expected to clear between 11 PM and midnight. The outbound direction toward hometowns is relatively smooth across all sections.

The expected nationwide traffic volume for this day is 4.2 million vehicles, a decrease of 950,000 vehicles compared to the previous day. It is anticipated that 340,000 vehicles will move from the metropolitan area to local regions, and 420,000 vehicles will move from local regions to the metropolitan area.