Highways across South Korea were congested on May 1, the first day of an extended holiday starting with Labor Day. A drive from Seoul to Busan was expected to take up to 9 hours and 10 minutes. About 1.3 million people were estimated to use Incheon International Airport through Tuesday.
Earlier this year, the government designated Labor Day as a national holiday, allowing workers a day off. Taking Monday off enables up to five days of holiday, including the weekend and Children's Day on Tuesday.
More than 6 million vehicles were estimated to travel nationwide on Friday, according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp. A drive from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan was expected to take up to 9 hours and 10 minutes. Trips to southwestern Gwangju and eastern coastal Gangneung were projected at 7 hours 30 minutes and 6 hours 20 minutes, respectively, at peak times.
The agency expected outbound traffic to ease from around 9 to 10 p.m. and inbound traffic to Seoul from 10 to 11 p.m. Some 1.3 million people were estimated to be taking flights at Incheon International Airport from the previous day through Tuesday amid rising demand for international trips.
