Homebound traffic remains heaviest on 2nd day of Chuseok holiday

Homebound traffic on major expressways remained heaviest Sunday, the second day of the extended Chuseok holiday, with traffic jams expected to be easing late night, according to the expressway operator.

As of 5 p.m., travel time from Seoul to the southeastern city of Busan had been estimated at 5 hours, 4 hours and 30 minutes to the southeastern city of Ulsan, 4 hours to the southwestern city of Mokpo, and 4 hours to the southeastern city of Daegu, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC).

In the morning, the estimated travel time from Seoul to Busan was 7 hours and 30 minutes, and 6 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo.

As of 5 p.m., travel time to Seoul had been estimated at 4 hours and 30 minutes from Busan, 4 hours and 10 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, and 3 hours and 30 minutes from Daegu.

The KEC said outbound traffic from Seoul is expected to be heaviest Sunday, with congestion starting at around 5 a.m. and peaking around noon.

It said outbound traffic from Seoul as well as inbound traffic are expected to be easing around 8-9 p.m.

The KEC said 5.96 million vehicles are expected to hit the roads Sunday, including 520,000 traveling from the capital region to the provinces and 420,000 traveling from the provinces to the capital area.

This year’s Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest celebration, falls on Tuesday, and the extended holiday runs from Saturday until Wednesday.