"Congestion Expected to Ease Around 8 to 9 p.m."
Return Traffic Also Heavy, Travel Times Range from 2 to 4 Hours
Nationwide Traffic Volume Projected at About 5.75 Million Vehicles
On October 5, the day before Chuseok, traffic congestion continues on some major expressways heading out of Seoul in the direction of hometowns.
According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 5:00 p.m. on this day, the estimated travel times by car from the Seoul Tollgate to major cities across the country are as follows: 5 hours and 10 minutes to Busan, 4 hours and 30 minutes to both Ulsan and Mokpo, 4 hours and 10 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours and 50 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours to Gangneung, and 2 hours and 30 minutes to Daejeon.
The estimated travel times from each city to Seoul are 4 hours and 40 minutes from Busan, 4 hours and 30 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Gwangju, 3 hours and 50 minutes from Daegu, 2 hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 2 hours and 20 minutes from Daejeon.
On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, congestion persists for 7 kilometers from the Seoul Junction to near the Tongdosa area.
On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Seoul, vehicles are unable to pick up speed over several sections: 3 kilometers near Daejeon, 3 kilometers near Sintanjin, 6 kilometers from the Oksan area to near Cheongju Service Area, 2 kilometers near Cheonan, 3 kilometers from Anseong Junction to near Anseong Service Area, and 5 kilometers from the Osan area to near Dongtan Junction.
On the first day of the Chuseok holiday, the southbound lanes near the Jamwon Interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul are experiencing traffic congestion. Photo by Yonhap News.
On the Seohaean Expressway toward Mokpo, congestion is occurring for 3 kilometers near Seosan and 6 kilometers from near the Dongseocheon Junction to near Gunsan.
On the Jungbu Expressway toward Nami, vehicles are moving slowly over a 13-kilometer section from Ochang to Nami Junction.
On the Yeongdong Expressway toward Gangneung, congestion is observed for 1 kilometer near the Hobeop Junction and for 2 kilometers near the Manjong Junction.
Toward Incheon, vehicles are moving slowly for 3 kilometers near the Gwanggyo Tunnel to Buk Suwon, 2 kilometers from Dundae Junction to near Banwol Tunnel, and 3 kilometers from Gunja Junction to near Wolgot Junction.
The corporation expects that congestion in the direction of hometowns will ease around 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Return traffic toward Seoul is also expected to clear around 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
On this day, nationwide traffic volume is projected to reach approximately 5.75 million vehicles. Of these, the corporation estimates that about 470,000 vehicles will move from the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions, and about 460,000 vehicles will travel from other regions to the metropolitan area.
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