On the first day of the Chuseok holiday, September 24, heavy traffic is reported on highways as travelers head home.
According to Yonhap News and the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m., the estimated travel times from the Seoul tollgate to major cities are 9 hours and 30 minutes to Busan, 9 hours and 20 minutes to Mokpo, 9 hours and 10 minutes to Ulsan, 8 hours and 30 minutes to Daegu, 8 hours and 30 minutes to Gwangju, 7 hours to Gangneung, and 5 hours and 20 minutes to Daejeon.
Conversely, the estimated travel times from these cities back to Seoul are 6 hours and 30 minutes from Busan, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, 6 hours and 10 minutes from Ulsan, 5 hours and 30 minutes from Daegu, 4 hours and 10 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 2 hours and 20 minutes from Daejeon.
Traffic is slow on the Gyeongbu Expressway in the direction of Busan, particularly in the following areas: 3 km near the Singal Junction to Suwon, 90 km near the Giheung Rest Area to the Nami Junction, and 24 km near the Namcheongju area to the Biryong Junction.
On the Jungbu Expressway heading south, congestion is reported in the following sections: 22 km near the Hanam Junction to the Gyeonggi Gwangju Junction, 4 km near the Icheon Rest Area to the Hobak Junction, 8 km near the Hobak Junction to the Nam Icheon IC, 5 km near Iljuk to the Samsung Hi-Pass IC, 18 km near the Daeso Junction to the Jincheon Tunnel, and 14 km near Ochang to the Nami Junction.
The corporation stated, "The traffic congestion that began the day before is expected to peak between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. today and will likely ease around 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The return traffic is expected to start congesting around 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., with the heaviest traffic occurring between noon and 1 p.m., and it should clear up around 6 p.m. to 7 p.m."
Nationwide traffic is projected to reach approximately 6.16 million vehicles today. The corporation estimates that 510,000 vehicles will travel from the metropolitan area to the provinces, while 380,000 vehicles will head from the provinces to the metropolitan area.
Additionally, on September 23, the corporation announced that it would provide customized traffic forecast information for the Chuseok holiday. Previously, only the maximum congestion times and estimated travel times between major cities were provided. However, with this update, average speeds for specific sections will be calculated based on historical data, allowing travelers to see estimated travel times between major cities by date and time.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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