Hearts Already Home... Seoul–Busan Trip Takes 7 Hours 30 Minutes
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- 2026-09-23 13:41:20
- Updated
- 2026-09-23 13:41:20
[Financial News] With holiday-bound traffic surging one day before the Chuseok break, long stretches of congestion appeared on major highways across the country. The drive from Seoul to Busan was expected to take up to 7 hours 30 minutes, while congestion toward the provinces was forecast to continue through September 24.
The Korea Expressway Corporation estimated that nationwide expressway traffic would reach 6.13 million vehicles on September 23, making conditions more congested than on a typical Wednesday. An estimated 510,000 vehicles were expected to travel from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces, while 450,000 were expected to head from the provinces to the Seoul metropolitan area.
The trip from the Seoul tollgate to Busan was expected to take up to 7 hours 30 minutes. Travel times were forecast at 6 hours 50 minutes from Seoul to Gwangju, 7 hours 20 minutes to Mokpo and 3 hours 20 minutes to Gangneung.
Congestion on highways toward the provinces, where holiday-bound traffic was concentrated, began around 6–7 a.m. Traffic heading toward Seoul also increased from around 7–8 a.m., and congestion in both directions was expected to be heaviest around 6–7 p.m.
Congestion toward the provinces was expected to continue through September 24. The Korea Expressway Corporation forecast that traffic heading toward Seoul would begin to flow smoothly around 8–9 p.m.
At 1 p.m., vehicles could not travel at normal speeds over a 29-kilometer stretch on the Busan-bound Gyeongbu Expressway between the Bukcheonan Interchange and the Cheonan Hodu Service Area. On the Changwon-bound Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway, congestion continued over 10 kilometers between Yeoju Junction and Gamgok, as well as over 11 kilometers between Mun-gyeong 2 Tunnel and Jinnam Tunnel.
Traffic was also backed up over an 11-kilometer stretch between Ochang and Nami Junction on the Nami-bound Jungbu Expressway. On the Jecheon-bound Pyeongtaek–Jecheon Expressway, congestion occurred over a 10-kilometer stretch near Namanseong and Geumgwang 3 Tunnel.
[email protected] Jeong Ji-woo Reporter