Highways nationwide clog as Chuseok exodus begins
Bumper-to-bumper traffic clogs one side of a highway in Seoul's Seocho District leading to the port city of Busan, Thursday, as the annual rush began of travelers heading to their hometowns and resort areas for the Chuseok holiday, the Korean autumn harvest celebration, which falls on Oct. 6 this year. Yonhap
Sections of expressways across South Korea were heavily jammed Friday as people headed to their hometowns for family reunions on the first day of the extended Chuseok holiday.
This year's holiday runs from Friday through next Thursday, as Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest festival, falls between two national holidays --- National Foundation Day, Oct. 3, and Hangeul Day, Oct. 9, which marks the creation of the Korean alphabet.
Traditionally, Koreans return to their hometowns to spend time with family and pay respects at ancestors' altars and graves.
As of 8 a.m., travel times were estimated at 6 1/2 hours from Seoul to the southeastern city of Busan, four hours to the southeastern city of Daegu and three hours and 20 minutes to the central city of Daejeon, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC).
The KEC said outbound traffic from Seoul was expected to peak around noon and ease by 7-8 p.m.
A total of 5.24 million vehicles are forecast nationwide Friday, including 440,000 departing the Seoul metropolitan area for other provinces and 430,000 heading toward Seoul from other regions.