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Worst traffic of the year Monday as more than 6 million vehicles hit the road for Chuseok

Published: 06 Oct. 2025, 16:20

Cars are stuck on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul on Oct. 3, the first day of the extended Chuseok holiday. [YONHAP]

Major highways across Korea are expected to see their heaviest congestion of the year on Monday, as millions of people take to the roads to visit family, ancestral graves and holiday destinations on Chuseok.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, about 6.67 million vehicles are projected to travel on expressways throughout the day. Roughly 490,000 cars are expected to leave the greater Seoul area, while about 480,000 were forecast to return from provincial regions.

Traffic heading toward Seoul is expected to peak between 4 and 5 p.m., after building up from around 7 to 8 a.m. Congestion is predicted to ease between 1 and 2 a.m. Tuesday. Southbound traffic is expected to reach its peak around 3 to 4 p.m., and clear by midnight.

The Gyeongbu and Seohaean expressways were forecast to experience the worst congestion, especially around 3 p.m. southbound and 5 p.m. northbound.

As of Monday afternoon, estimated travel times between major cities were: Seoul to Busan, 9 hours 40 minutes; Seoul to Daegu, 8 hours 40 minutes; Seoul to Gwangju, 7 hours 30 minutes; Seoul to Daejeon, 4 hours; Seoul to Gangneung, 5 hours; and Seoul to Ulsan, 9 hours 20 minutes.

For the return trip, travel times were similar — Busan to Seoul, 9 hours 40 minutes; Daegu to Seoul, 8 hours 40 minutes; Gwangju to Seoul, 8 hours; Daejeon to Seoul, 3 hours 40 minutes; Gangneung to Seoul, 5 hours 30 minutes; and Ulsan to Seoul, 9 hours 20 minutes.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]