End of Holiday Return Traffic Jam Begins... Busan to Seoul Takes 5 Hours 20 Minutes

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 24th, traffic congestion began on highways nationwide due to vehicles heading back home at the final stage of the return trip.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 10 a.m. that day, the estimated travel times from major cities nationwide to the Seoul tollgate are: Busan 5 hours 20 minutes, Ulsan 5 hours, Daegu 4 hours 20 minutes, Gwangju 4 hours 30 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 50 minutes, and Daejeon 1 hour 50 minutes.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Conversely, the travel times from the Seoul tollgate to each city are: Busan 4 hours 30 minutes, Ulsan 4 hours 10 minutes, Daegu 3 hours 30 minutes, Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes, and Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes.

As of 9 a.m. that day, vehicles were moving slowly only in the 5 km sections from Charyeong Tunnel to Nampungse IC near Hojeong 2 Bridge towards Cheonan on the Nonsan-Cheonan Line, and from Nampungse IC to Charyeong Tunnel Management Office towards Nonsan.

Korea Expressway Corporation predicted that the return traffic congestion would start between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., peak between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., and ease between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Highways nationwide were as congested as on a typical weekend, and the total traffic volume nationwide for the day was expected to reach 4.32 million vehicles.

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