Seollal Holiday Nationwide Highway Traffic Jam... Seoul to Busan Takes 7 Hours 50 Minutes

On the 8th, one day before the Lunar New Year holiday, the full-scale homecoming battle began, causing traffic congestion on the southbound lanes of the Seoul-Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On the morning of the 10th, Lunar New Year's Day, traffic congestion is occurring on major highways across the country.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 11 a.m. that day, the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are 7 hours 50 minutes to Busan, 7 hours 20 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours 50 minutes to Daegu, 5 hours 20 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours 20 minutes to Daejeon.

The roads heading to Seoul are even more congested. The estimated travel times are 8 hours from Busan to Seoul, 7 hours 30 minutes from Ulsan to Seoul, 7 hours from Daegu, 6 hours 50 minutes from Gwangju, and 3 hours 30 minutes from Daejeon.

Traffic volume nationwide is expected to reach approximately 6.05 million vehicles. About 460,000 vehicles will travel from the metropolitan area to other regions, and about 460,000 vehicles will travel from other regions to the metropolitan area.

Traffic congestion in the direction of returning to hometowns is expected to peak between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., then ease around 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Traffic returning to Seoul is expected to peak between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., with congestion clearing around 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on the 11th.

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