Traffic congestion is building up across highways as people travel for home visits and returns this morning (September 25), which is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) day.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m., estimated travel times from the Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are 8 hours and 40 minutes to Busan, 6 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, 8 hours and 20 minutes to Ulsan, 7 hours and 40 minutes to Daegu, 6 hours and 10 minutes to Gwangju, 4 hours and 10 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours and 50 minutes to Daejeon.

Conversely, the estimated travel times from each city to Seoul are 7 hours and 50 minutes from Busan, 7 hours from Mokpo, 7 hours and 30 minutes from Ulsan, 6 hours and 50 minutes from Daegu, 6 hours and 50 minutes from Gwangju, 3 hours and 30 minutes from Gangneung, and 3 hours from Daejeon.

On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic is congested in sections including a 10 km stretch from Dongtan Junction to near Namsa, and a 22 km stretch from near Manghyang Rest Area to near Cheonan Hodu Rest Area.

Traffic is also moving slowly on a 19 km stretch of the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang from Gangil to near Seojong. On the Seohaean Expressway toward Mokpo, congestion is reported in sections including an 8 km stretch from near Bibong to near Hwaseong Rest Area, a 6 km stretch from Seopyeongtaek Junction to Seopyeongtaek, and a 6 km stretch from Seopyeongtaek to Seohae Bridge.

On the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway toward Wonju, vehicles are moving slowly along a 10 km stretch from Dongyangpyeong to Seowonju, and a 12 km stretch from Heungcheon-Ipo to Daesin Tunnel.

The corporation forecasts that the return-to-hometown traffic congestion, which began the previous day, will peak around 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. today and ease around 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Traffic heading back to Seoul is expected to be most congested between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and clear up around 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day.

Total nationwide traffic volume for today is projected at approximately 6.84 million vehicles.

The corporation expects 470,000 vehicles to move from the metropolitan area to regional areas, and 460,000 vehicles to move from regional areas to the metropolitan area.

(Photo: Yonhap News)