Traffic on major expressways across South Korea remained heavy Tuesday as people traveled to their hometowns or returned back home a day after Chuseok.
Chuseok, which fell on Monday this year, is the Korean autumn harvest festival marked by family reunions and ancestral rites. This year's extended holiday runs from Friday to Thursday, as it connects with National Foundation Day and Hangeul Day, which commemorates the creation of the Korean alphabet.
As of 8 a.m., the estimated travel time to Seoul from the southeastern port city of Busan was 7 hours, 6 hours and 40 minutes from the southeastern city of Ulsan, and 4 hours and 50 minutes from the southwestern city of Gwangju, according to the Korea Expressway Corp.
Travel time from Seoul to Busan was estimated at 7 hours and 30 minutes, 7 hours and 10 minutes to Ulsan, and 5 hours and 30 minutes to Gwangju.
Outbound traffic from Seoul was expected to ease at around 9 to 10 p.m., while inbound congestion was forecast to ease from around 2 to 3 a.m. Wednesday, the KEC said.
Nearly 5.61 million vehicles were expected to be on the road nationwide Tuesday. (Yonhap)
