Heavy traffic built up on major roads and expressways across South Korea on Tuesday, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as people traveled to hometowns. The Korea Expressway Corp. estimated travel times from Seoul to Busan at five hours as of 8 a.m. The holiday period began over the weekend and runs through Wednesday.
Heavy traffic built up on major roads and expressways across South Korea Tuesday as people traveled to their hometowns on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year holiday. On some sections of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which links Seoul to the southeastern city of Busan through major cities, cars were often at a standstill.
Around 6.15 million vehicles were expected to hit the roads nationwide this day, including 440,000 cars leaving the greater Seoul area and 470,000 heading toward Seoul from other regions, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC). As of 8 a.m., travel times were estimated at five hours from Seoul to Busan, four hours to Daegu, and two hours and 10 minutes to Daejeon.
The KEC reported that outbound traffic from Seoul is expected to peak between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and begin easing around 8 p.m. Inbound travel times were relatively longer at six hours and 40 minutes from Busan to Seoul, five hours and 40 minutes from Daegu, and two hours from Daejeon. Inbound traffic is expected to peak between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. before easing at around 3 a.m. the following morning.
The nation marks the major holiday, known as Seol, on Tuesday, with the holiday period beginning over the weekend and running through Wednesday. The KEC is monitoring traffic in real time and advising drivers on alternative routes and rest areas.
