Seoul-to-Busan drive stretches to 9.5 hours as highways jam on first day of Chuseok

Highways across the country ground to a near standstill Thursday morning as millions of travelers headed to their hometowns on the first day of the Chuseok holiday.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, estimated travel times from the Seoul tollgate to major cities as of 9 a.m. were: 9 hours and 30 minutes to Busan, 9 hours and 20 minutes to Mokpo, 9 hours and 10 minutes to Ulsan, 8 hours and 30 minutes to Daegu, 8 hours and 30 minutes to Gwangju, 7 hours to Gangneung, and 5 hours and 20 minutes to Daejeon.

Travel times in the opposite direction — from regional cities back to Seoul — were estimated at 6 hours and 30 minutes from Busan, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, 6 hours and 10 minutes from Ulsan, 5 hours and 30 minutes from Daegu, 4 hours and 10 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 2 hours and 20 minutes from Daejeon.

On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic was moving slowly in several stretches: near the Singal junction to Suwon (3 kilometers), from near the Giheung rest area to the Nami junction (90 kilometers), and from near Nam-Cheongju to the Biryong junction (24 kilometers).

On the Jungbu Expressway toward Nami, slow-moving traffic was reported across multiple segments — from the Hanam junction to near the Gyeonggi Gwangju junction (22 kilometers), from the Icheon rest area to the Hobeop junction (4 kilometers), from the Hobeop junction to near Nam-Icheon IC (8 kilometers), from Iljuk to near the Samsung Hi-pass IC (5 kilometers), from near the Daeso junction to near the Jincheon Tunnel (18 kilometers), and from near Ochang to the Nami junction (14 kilometers).

The Korea Expressway Corporation forecast that outbound congestion, which began Wednesday, would peak Thursday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. before easing around 8 to 9 p.m. Inbound traffic toward Seoul is expected to build from around 8 to 9 a.m., reach its worst between noon and 1 p.m., and clear up around 6 to 7 p.m.

Total nationwide traffic volume Thursday was projected at about 6.16 million vehicles. The corporation estimated that about 510,000 vehicles would travel from the greater Seoul area to regional destinations, while about 380,000 would make the reverse trip.

Meanwhile, data show that fatal highway accidents during national holidays are more concentrated during Chuseok than during the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to national audit materials submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum of the National Assembly's Land and Transportation Committee by the Korea Expressway Corporation, a total of 195 highway accidents occurred during the six most recent holiday periods from 2021 through the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday. Those accidents left 11 people dead and 158 injured, for a total of 169 casualties.

Breaking the figures down by holiday, 102 accidents occurred over 26 days of Lunar New Year holidays in the past six years, for a daily average of 0.08 deaths. During 24 days of Chuseok holidays, 93 accidents resulted in a daily average of 0.38 deaths — more than 4.7 times the Lunar New Year rate.

"Highway accidents during Chuseok, when entire families travel together, can easily escalate into mass casualties through chain-reaction collisions," Yoo said. "The statistics clearly show that fatal accidents are concentrated during Chuseok, so drivers must take a break every two hours on long trips, keep their eyes on the road, maintain a safe following distance, and refrain from using their smartphones even in congested sections."