Chuseok holiday begins
A family, with the children clad in traditional Korean attire, or hanbok, heads to board a train bound to the parents’ hometown at Seoul Station, Tuesday, ahead of Chuseok, which falls on Thursday. / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
More than 18 million people are expected to travel across the country to return to their hometowns for the Chuseok long weekend, traffic authorities said Tuesday.
According to the Korea Expressway Corp. and Korea Transport Institute, 500,000 vehicles had departed Seoul using expressways on Tuesday alone.
Monday’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake has not affected the annual holiday migration, as no major damage was reported on expressways nationwide, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
On the return trip after Chuseok ceremonies are finished Thursday morning, less congestion is expected as travelers have three days to choose from for the return trip, from Friday to Sunday.
The government has increased the number of express buses, trains, flights and ferries active for the holiday.
Information on less congested roads and other traffic data is available through the ministry’s website cyber.molit.go.kr/traffic. Traffic information will also be updated every hour on the ministry’s Twitter account, @HappyTraffic, and the expressway corporation’s account, @15882504.
For Seoul residents planning to return between Friday and Saturday, the city government will extend the operating hours of subways and city buses to 2 a.m. Detailed information on transport operations in the capital is available through the 120 Dasan Call Center. The city’s traffic control team will also offer a round-the-clock service at (02) 6360-4638.
During the long weekend, many have also opted to go overseas. Incheon International Airport Corp. expects 986,000 people will use the airport from Tuesday to Sunday, which is 164,000 travelers per day, up 21.2 percent from the number during last year’s Chuseok.
In the case of a medical emergency, a 24-hour hotline 119 will help people locate the nearest medical institution or consult with doctors.
The regional code is needed first when calling with a cell phone.
In Seoul, 67 emergency centers will offer medical services round the clock. About 460 small clinics and 1,360 pharmacies will open in rotation. A list of hospitals and pharmacies open during the holiday is available from the 120 Dasan Call Center, seoul.go.kr or the National Emergency Medical Center’s website e-gen.or.kr.
People in most parts of the country should be able to see the full moon on the day of Chuseok, Thursday, as clear weather is expected although some regions may have a slight chance of clouds, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The weather agency is watching whether typhoon Malakas, which developed Tuesday, will approach the Korean Peninsula, although chances are low.