Return trip 'Busan→Seoul 6 hours 40 minutes'... Major road congestion begins

Bidirectional Congestion from Morning

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 Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan in Seoul as vehicles crowded. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 11th, traffic congestion is beginning on major roads nationwide heading toward Seoul.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m. that day, the estimated travel times by passenger car from major city toll gates nationwide to Seoul are 6 hours 40 minutes from Busan, 6 hours 10 minutes from Ulsan, 5 hours 30 minutes from Mokpo, 5 hours 30 minutes from Gwangju, 5 hours 40 minutes from Daegu, 2 hours 20 minutes from Daejeon, and 2 hours 50 minutes from Gangneung.

Conversely, the estimated travel times from Seoul to each city are 5 hours 10 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 40 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 50 minutes to Mokpo, 4 hours 30 minutes to Gwangju, 4 hours 10 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours to Gangneung, and 1 hour 40 minutes to Daejeon.

As of 9 a.m., traffic is increasing and moving slowly near the Gimcheon Junction on the Seoul-bound Gyeongbu Expressway. On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Seoul, vehicles are also unable to maintain speed over an 8 km section from Dangjin to Seohae Bridge.

On the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway heading toward Wonju, there is a 2 km traffic jam between Chowol and the Chowol Tunnel, and on the Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway heading toward Cheonan, vehicles are crawling over a 20 km section from Jeongan Rest Area to Nampungse.

The Expressway Corporation expects heavy congestion in both directions due to last-minute holiday travelers returning home and heading back.

Traffic congestion toward hometowns is expected to begin between 10 and 11 a.m., peak around 4 to 5 p.m., and ease by 7 to 8 p.m.

Traffic congestion toward the metropolitan area started between 8 and 9 a.m., is expected to peak between 4 and 5 p.m., and clear by 2 to 3 a.m. on the 12th.

The estimated nationwide traffic volume for the day is 5.15 million vehicles, with 370,000 vehicles moving from the metropolitan area to provinces and 480,000 vehicles moving from provinces to the metropolitan area.

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