Seoul to Busan 6 Hours 50 Minutes... Traffic Congestion Begins on First Day of Lunar New Year Holiday Return Journey

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] On the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday and Saturday, the 29th, major expressways nationwide are experiencing congestion in several sections in the morning.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8 a.m. that day, vehicles are moving slowly over a total of 48 km on the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan, including the sections from Banpo to Seocho, near Osan, from near Namsa to Anseong Junction, and from near Manghyang Rest Area to Oksan Junction.

On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Mokpo, congestion is occurring over a 9 km section near Paltan Junction to Hwaseong Rest Area and from Seopyeongtaek to Seohae Bridge.

On the Jungbu Expressway heading toward Namyi, vehicles are crawling over a total of 19 km, including the sections from Hobup Junction to near Namicheon IC, from Daeso Junction to near Jincheon, and near Jincheon Terminal.

The total traffic volume nationwide on this day is expected to be 4.76 million vehicles, with 450,000 moving from the metropolitan area to local regions and 370,000 moving from local regions to the metropolitan area.

The Expressway Corporation predicted, "As it is the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the homebound direction will be the most congested during the holiday period."

Homebound traffic congestion is expected to peak between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. and ease between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

At 9 a.m., the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are: Busan 6 hours 50 minutes, Gwangju 5 hours 20 minutes, Ulsan 6 hours 30 minutes, Daegu 5 hours 50 minutes, Daejeon 3 hours 20 minutes, and Gangneung 3 hours 40 minutes.

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