Busan to Seoul 5 Hours... Partial Highway Congestion on Return Trip

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 14th, traffic congestion is spreading across expressways nationwide.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 12:10 PM, on the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan, vehicles are repeatedly stopping and going over a 2 km section between Jamwon and Banpo, and on the Seoul-bound side, congestion extends over a 14 km section near Oksan Junction to Mokcheon.

On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Seoul, traffic is slow over a 3 km section near Dangjin to Songak, while traffic toward Mokpo is flowing smoothly.

On the Capital Region 1st Ring Expressway (formerly Seoul Outer Ring Expressway) heading toward Ilsan, congestion occurs over a 3 km section between Jangsu and Songnae, but traffic toward Guri is smooth. On the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway heading toward Yangpyeong, vehicles are crawling over a 12 km section near Bukchungju to Chungju Junction.

At 1 PM, the estimated travel times by passenger car from major cities nationwide to the Seoul tollgate are 5 hours from Busan, 3 hours 30 minutes from Gwangju, 4 hours from Daegu, and 3 hours from Gangneung.

The Expressway Corporation forecasts that congestion will peak between 3 and 4 PM and will ease around 9 to 10 PM. Nationwide traffic volume is expected to reach 3.49 million vehicles, with 370,000 vehicles moving from local areas to the capital region and 300,000 vehicles moving from the capital region to local areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.