Traffic heavy on highways nationwide day after Chuseok
Cars are stuck on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul, Oct. 3, the first day of the extended Chuseok holiday. Yonhap
Traffic on major expressways across Korea remained heavy Tuesday as people began returning back home a day after Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest celebration.
This year's extended holiday runs from Friday through Thursday, as Chuseok, which fell Monday this year, connects with two national holidays — National Foundation Day on Oct. 3 and Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, which marks the creation of the Korean alphabet.
As of 6 p.m., the estimated travel time to Seoul from the southwestern city of Gwangju was 6 hours and 30 minutes, and 5 hours and 40 minutes from the southeastern port city of Busan, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC).
Travel time from Seoul to Busan was estimated at 4 hours and 50 minutes, 4 hours and 30 minutes to the southeastern city of Ulsan, and 3 hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju.
In regard to travel to Seoul, traffic congestion was expected to peak at 5 to 6 p.m. and 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.