Homecoming Traffic Clogs Highways
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Highways and roads to Seoul were gridlocked through Sunday afternoon as cars and buses carrying millions of Chuseok holiday-travelers returned to the capital from their hometowns.
This year’s congestion was more serious than previous years because the holiday fell on the weekend.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs estimated more than 25.7 million people were on the move during the three-day period.
Traffic jams peaked from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC), causing drivers to sit behind the wheel for up to six hours from Busan to Seoul; more than five hours from Gwangju and Mokpo; and two-and-a-half hours from Daejeon.
“It takes almost twice the normal time to travel to Seoul,” a KEC official said.
Domestic airlines operated additional flights and the Korea Railorad Corp. ran additional KTX bullet trains. The operation time for buses and subways in Seoul was extended to 2 a.m. (usually midnight) for late arrivals.
In addition to traffic, there were some fires across the country during the most celebrated Korean holiday. However, few injuries were reported, police said.
At 4:10 a.m., Saturday, a dye mill in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, was engulfed by a fire, whose exact cause has yet to be confirmed. It was extinguished in one hour after blackening two buildings and inside materials worth 93 million won, a fireman said. There were no casualties he added.
On the same day, part of a church in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, was burned in another fire.
On Friday afternoon, a fire swept through a house in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, burning a 39-year-old man who was taking a nap. He had burns to his arms and legs, but they were not life-threatening, doctors said.