Paid Highways During Lunar New Year Holiday, Rest Areas Offer Takeout Only

Government's Special Traffic Management for Seollal Holiday

On the second day of the Chuseok holiday last September 19, vehicles were moving slowly toward the Busan direction on the Gyeongbu Expressway near Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

With approximately 29 million people expected to travel during this Lunar New Year holiday period, government authorities have launched special traffic management measures, including requests to refrain from visiting hometowns.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it has designated the six days from the 28th of this month to the 2nd of next month as the "Lunar New Year Special Traffic Control Period." During this time, dining inside highway rest area stores will be prohibited, allowing only takeout, as part of strengthened quarantine management.

Additionally, the government is requesting people to refrain from visiting hometowns and traveling, while highway tolls will be charged as usual. Since 2017, tolls were waived during holiday periods, but due to the spread of COVID-19, tolls were reinstated starting from Chuseok 2020. Toll revenue will be used for COVID-19 quarantine activities and related efforts.

During the special traffic control period, all food menus at highway rest areas will be available for takeout only, and indoor dining will be prohibited.

Outdoor tables will have partitions installed and seating will be arranged to maintain distancing.

The government plans to manage users by operating separate entrances and exits at highway rest areas, conducting temperature checks, and requiring entry logs (manual, QR code, or simple phone check-in). Visitors not wearing masks will be denied entry.

Temporary screening clinics will be set up at seven major highway rest areas (Anseong Seoul-bound, Icheon Hanam-bound, Yongin Seochang-bound, Naerincheon both directions, Hoengseong Gangneung-bound, Baekyangsa Suncheon-bound, Hampyeongcheonji Mokpyo-bound) and one railway station (Gimcheon Gumi KTX Station).

All transportation facilities where crowds gather, such as railway stations, bus and passenger ship terminals, and airports, will implement frequent disinfection, continuous ventilation, route separation, and promote non-face-to-face ticketing as quarantine measures.

To reduce user concentration and crowding, continuous disinfection activities will be strengthened for each mode of public transportation.

For railways, only window seats will be sold; for buses and airlines, priority booking for window seats and spaced seating arrangements are recommended. Passenger ships will increase operations by 8% through additional vessels and trips.

For overseas arrivals, separate transportation systems such as dedicated buses and KTX exclusive cars will be operated.

Furthermore, during the holiday period, the government will use 21 highway undercover patrol cars to focus on cracking down on dangerous behaviors such as speeding and reckless driving.

Random drunk driving checks will also be conducted at major points such as highway toll gates and rest areas.

Meanwhile, according to a holiday travel plan survey by the Korea Transport Institute, a total of 28.77 million people are expected to travel over the six days, averaging 4.8 million per day. This daily average travel volume represents an increase of approximately 17.4% compared to last year (4.09 million).

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