South Korea's major highways are bracing for their heaviest outbound traffic of the Lunar New Year holiday period on Sunday, as millions head to hometowns for family gatherings during the cherished Seol celebrations.
The congestion is projected to reach its peak on outbound routes between noon and 1 p.m., before easing off from around 8 to 9 p.m., according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp. This surge marks the second day of the holiday, which officially begins over the weekend and extends through Wednesday, with the nation observing the major holiday of Seol on Tuesday.
Already, roads like the Gyeongbu Expressway in southern Seoul were packed with vehicles on Friday, just a day before the holiday period kicked off, as captured in images from Yonhap showing gridlock ahead of the festivities.
Travel times on key routes underscore the anticipated delays. As of 8 a.m., a drive from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan, approximately 330 kilometers away, was expected to take about six hours and 10 minutes. Similarly, the trip from Seoul to Daegu, some 240 kilometers southeast of the capital, was forecasted at five hours and 10 minutes.
Inbound journeys toward Seoul, by contrast, were projected to be relatively swifter. The drive from Busan to Seoul was estimated at five hours and 10 minutes, while from Daegu to Seoul it would take four hours and 10 minutes.
The Korea Expressway Corp.'s projections highlight the traditional mass exodus during Seol, when Koreans nationwide travel long distances to reunite with extended families, turning expressways into rivers of taillights and testing the patience of drivers across the country.
