The Day Before Seollal, Major Highway Traffic Jam... Seoul to Busan 5 Hours 30 Minutes

On the 30th, during the Lunar New Year holiday, traffic congestion continues on the southbound lanes (right side) of the Gyeongbu Expressway as seen from Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] On the morning of the 31st, which is both the day before Seollal and a Monday, major highways nationwide are experiencing congestion from early morning in various locations.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m. that day, the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan is congested over an 8 km section from near Cheonan to Mokcheon.

The Seohaean Expressway heading toward Mokpo is experiencing slow traffic over a 7 km section from near Seopyeongtaek to the Seohae Bridge.

The Jungbu Expressway heading toward Nami is congested over a 2 km section near Jincheon and a 3 km section near the Jincheon Tunnel.

The Seoul Ring Expressway (Capital Region 1st Circular Expressway) heading toward Guri is flowing smoothly throughout the entire section.

Traffic volume nationwide on this day is expected to reach 4.32 million vehicles, with 390,000 vehicles moving from the capital area to local regions and 390,000 vehicles moving from local regions to the capital area.

According to the Expressway Corporation, the outbound traffic congestion is expected to peak around 12 to 1 p.m. and ease around 4 to 5 p.m. The return traffic congestion is expected to peak around 4 to 5 p.m. and ease around 8 to 9 p.m.

At 10 a.m., the estimated travel times by passenger car departing from the Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are: Busan 5 hours 30 minutes, Gwangju 3 hours 50 minutes, Ulsan 5 hours 10 minutes, Daegu 4 hours 30 minutes, Daejeon 2 hours 20 minutes, and Gangneung 3 hours 10 minutes.

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