Heavy Traffic Jam Begins on Return Trip Highway... Seoul to Busan Takes 6 Hours 20 Minutes

Traffic Congestion Begins Ahead of One-Week Holiday

As the week-long holiday for Chuseok and National Foundation Day begins tomorrow, highway congestion is intensifying today due to concentrated vehicle traffic.

The Korea Expressway Corporation estimated that 5.85 million vehicles will use the highways nationwide on the 27th. It is expected that 530,000 vehicles will travel from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces, and 470,000 vehicles will move from the provinces to the Seoul metropolitan area.

Traffic congestion heading toward the provinces is expected to peak between 6 and 7 PM and continue until early the next morning. Congestion heading toward Seoul is expected to ease around 7 to 8 PM.

On the 27th, two days before Chuseok, the nation's biggest holiday, vehicles carrying returning holidaymakers are moving on the southbound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway as seen from the air. [Aerial shooting cooperation=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Aviation Unit, Pilots: Lieutenant Shin Seung-ho - Lieutenant Park Ji-hwan, Crew: Lieutenant Park Sang-jin] Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Based on departure from toll gates at 7 PM, the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul to the provinces are ▲Busan 6 hours 20 minutes ▲Ulsan 5 hours 55 minutes ▲Gangneung 3 hours ▲Yangyang 1 hour 51 minutes (departing from Namyangju) ▲Daejeon 4 hours ▲Gwangju 5 hours 50 minutes ▲Mokpo 6 hours (departing from West Seoul) ▲Daegu 5 hours 15 minutes.

At the same time, travel times from the provinces to Seoul are ▲Busan 4 hours 40 minutes ▲Ulsan 4 hours 11 minutes ▲Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲Yangyang 1 hour 50 minutes (arriving at Namyangju) ▲Daejeon 1 hour 58 minutes ▲Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲Mokpo 3 hours 40 minutes (arriving at West Seoul) ▲Daegu 3 hours 31 minutes.

If using the bus-only lanes, travel times from Seoul to the provinces are ▲Busan 4 hours 30 minutes ▲Ulsan 4 hours 1 minute ▲Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲Daejeon 1 hour 40 minutes ▲Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲Daegu 3 hours 45 minutes.

At the same time, travel times using bus-only lanes from the provinces to Seoul are ▲Busan 4 hours 50 minutes ▲Ulsan 4 hours 1 minute ▲Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲Daejeon 1 hour 40 minutes ▲Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲Daegu 3 hours 21 minutes.

The police will operate a traffic control center from today until the last day of the holiday on October 3, focusing on managing the highways and routes for outbound and return traffic.

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