4.25 million cars to hit the road for holiday travel with heavy snow forecast
Published: 26 Jan. 2025, 16:46
Updated: 26 Jan. 2025, 17:17
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
![Cars fill north and southbound lanes on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul on Jan. 26, a day after the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/26/7d520de3-58d1-4140-8948-d655ce7a77de.jpg)
Cars fill north and southbound lanes on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul on Jan. 26, a day after the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]
Koreans traveling to their hometowns and extended families clogged up major roads and expressways as this year's extended Lunar New Year holiday period kicked off in earnest over the weekend.
According to the state-owned Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), about 4.25 million vehicles are expected to fill expressways across the country on Sunday, the second day of the official holiday period.
With the government's designation of Monday as a public holiday, this year's Lunar New Year holiday week spans Saturday, Jan. 25, to Thursday, Jan. 30, but many companies have allowed employees to rest on Friday, Jan. 31, extending the traditionally three-day-long holiday to a nine-day affair.
The KEC estimated that approximately 410,000 of those cars will be outbound traffic leaving the greater Seoul area, while around 300,000 will represent inbound traffic heading toward the capital.
The KEC estimated that north and southbound travel times would be one to two hours longer than usual during the period.
As of 10 a.m. on Sunday, the journey from Seoul to Busan, located in the southeastern corner of the peninsula, was estimated to take five hours and 20 minutes, while a trip in the opposite direction was only 10 minutes shorter.
Approximate travel time from Seoul to Daegu was four hours and 20 minutes, just 10 minutes longer than a trip from Daegu to the capital.
Journeys to Gwangju in the southwest were expected to take four hours and 10 minutes, but trips in the opposition direction were likely to take 50 minutes less, according to the KEC.
The agency predicted that trips from Seoul to Gangneung, located on the country’s northeastern coast, would take three hours and 20 minutes while travel back to the capital would take around three hours.
The KEC forecast that traffic congestion on Sunday would peak between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. before declining in the late evening between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.
The highway operator also predicted a surge in road traffic on Monday and Tuesday that could see motorists spending up to seven hours traveling from Seoul to Busan and five to six hours to Gwangju and Daegu.
Starting Monday, expressways nationwide will be toll-free to ease road traffic flow. The measure will continue through Thursday, according to the KEC.
![A family walks on a platform before boarding a high-speed train at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Jan. 26, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/26/7e13ca9a-c8ac-4b3e-a0a2-9c67250c9aae.jpg)
A family walks on a platform before boarding a high-speed train at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Jan. 26, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]
The state-run Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) predicted that greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi would receive 10 to 25 centimeters (4 to 10 inches) of snow between Monday and Tuesday.
The weather agency forecast 10 to 20 centimeters of snow for inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon on Sunday evening, with approximately one to five centimeters accumulating on the ground in coastal regions.
The central Chungcheong region and the cities of Daejeon and Sejong are forecast to receive between five and 15 centimeters of snow, while the southwestern Jeolla region and Gwangju are expected to see snowfall ranging between five and 20 centimeters.
The KMA forecast three to 10 centimeters of snow for the southeastern Gyeongsang region, while highland areas of the southernmost island of Jeju could receive up to 20 centimeters of snow.
The weather agency said snow clouds are likely to retreat from the greater Seoul area, Gangwon and Gyeongsang regions over the late afternoon and night on Tuesday, but added that some parts of Gyeonggi and the regions of Chungcheong, Jeolla and Jeju Island would likely see snowfall until Wednesday morning.
![People holding their luggage walk down the stairs at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Jan. 26, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/26/c33663c8-4109-4f43-95c2-4f852c62a691.jpg)
People holding their luggage walk down the stairs at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Jan. 26, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday. [NEWS1]
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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