Lunar New Year Homebound Traffic Begins... Seoul to Busan Takes 6 Hours 50 Minutes

Fog and Fine Dust at 'Bad' Levels
Heaviest Congestion Expected Between 11:00 a.m. and Noon
Nationwide Traffic Volume Forecast at 4.85 Million Vehicles

On the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, full-scale traffic congestion began in the homebound direction on major expressways across the country. Visibility is poor due to a combination of dense fog and fine dust.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8:00 a.m. on the 14th, the estimated travel time by passenger car from the Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide is 6 hours 50 minutes to Busan, 6 hours 30 minutes to Ulsan, 5 hours 50 minutes to Daegu, 4 hours 20 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours to Daejeon, and 2 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung. In the opposite direction, the expected travel time to Seoul is projected to be 4 hours 30 minutes from Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours 30 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours 20 minutes from Gwangju, 1 hour 30 minutes from Daejeon, and 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung.

Traffic congestion on highways during the holiday. Kang Jinhyung, Reporter

On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic is moving slowly over a 19 km section between the Anseong area and the Cheonan area, a 10 km section from the Cheonan Junction to the Cheonan Hodoo Service Area, and a 12 km section from the Oksan Service Area to the Cheongju Junction.

On the Jungbu Expressway toward Nami, traffic is congested over an 8 km section from the Hobeop Junction to the Namicheon Interchange, a 5 km section from the Daeso Junction to the Jincheon area, a 4 km section near the Jincheon Tunnel, and a 6 km section from Seocheongju to the Nami Junction.

On the Seohaean Expressway toward Mokpo, vehicles are repeatedly stopping and starting over a 2 km section from the Ansan Junction to the Sunsan Tunnel area, a 5 km section from around the Paltan Junction to around the Hwaseong Service Area, a 6 km section from the Seopyeongtaek Junction to Seopyeongtaek, and a 4 km section from Seopyeongtaek to the Seohae Bridge area.

On the Nonsancheonan Expressway toward Nonsan, vehicles are unable to pick up speed over a 23 km section from the Charyeong Tunnel to the Wooseonggyo section near the Gongju Interchange, and a 5 km section from the Yongseongcheon 2 Bridge near the Namgongju Interchange to the Bokryonggyo section near the Iin Service Area.

The corporation forecast that homebound congestion would begin between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., peak between 11:00 a.m. and noon, and ease around 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Traffic in the return-to-Seoul direction is expected to remain generally smooth.

Nationwide traffic volume for the day is expected to be around 4.85 million vehicles. Of these, about 460,000 vehicles are projected to travel from the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions, and about 370,000 vehicles from other regions to the metropolitan area.