Holiday Traffic Jams Across Highways on First Day... 5 Hours from Seoul to Busan

Congestion Expected to Ease Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.

On May 3, the first day of the holiday, traffic congestion occurred on highways across the country.

Gyeongbu Expressway near Jamwon Nadeulmok, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 6:00 p.m. on this day, the estimated travel times by car from the Seoul tollgate to major cities nationwide are as follows: 5 hours to Busan, 4 hours and 40 minutes to Ulsan, 4 hours to Gwangju, 4 hours and 10 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours and 40 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours and 10 minutes to Daejeon.

Currently, traffic is congested on the following sections: 33 kilometers from Anseong to Cheonan Service Area in the Busan-bound direction of the Gyeongbu Expressway; 10 kilometers from Icheon to Yeoju Junction in the Gangneung-bound direction of the Yeongdong Expressway; and 13 kilometers from Gasan to Seopyeongtaek in the Mokpo-bound direction of the Seohaean Expressway.

Congestion in the homebound direction peaked between 11:00 a.m. and around noon, but is expected to ease between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. The corporation estimated that 6.18 million vehicles would be on the move nationwide on this day.

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