![Vehicles back up on the southbound Gyeongbu Expressway near Jamwon IC in Seoul on Wednesday, the day before the Chuseok holiday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/24/news-p.v1.20260924.e7757681389e466e8732f03b920e777b_P1.jpg)
Highway congestion on the first day of the Chuseok holiday is gradually easing Thursday evening, with estimated travel times from Seoul to major cities falling by more than two hours compared to the afternoon. The Korea Expressway Corporation said most congestion is expected to clear by 8 to 9 p.m.
As of 7 p.m. Thursday, estimated travel times from the Seoul tollgate to major cities were: Busan, 4 hours 30 minutes; Ulsan, 4 hours 10 minutes; Mokpo, 3 hours 40 minutes; Daegu, 3 hours 30 minutes; Gwangju, 3 hours 20 minutes; Gangneung, 2 hours 40 minutes; and Daejeon, 1 hour 30 minutes — more than two hours shorter than afternoon estimates, according to Yonhap and the Korea Expressway Corporation.
Travel times in the opposite direction — from each city back to Seoul — were projected at the same figures: Busan, 4 hours 30 minutes; Ulsan, 4 hours 10 minutes; Mokpo, 3 hours 40 minutes; Daegu, 3 hours 30 minutes; Gwangju, 3 hours 20 minutes; Gangneung, 2 hours 40 minutes; and Daejeon, 1 hour 30 minutes.
However, some stretches remain slow. On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic is crawling for about 3 kilometers near the Oksan rest area to the Oksan Hi interchange. On the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway toward Wonju, a 10-kilometer stretch between Dongyang-pyeong and Seowonju is congested. The Seocheon-Gongju Expressway toward Seocheon is backed up for 5 kilometers from near Seocheon Tunnel to the Dongseocheon junction.
The Korea Expressway Corporation forecast that congestion will ease further by 8 to 9 p.m.
Meanwhile, the corporation estimated that about 6.16 million vehicles would travel nationwide Thursday, with 510,000 moving from the Greater Seoul area to other regions and 380,000 heading in the opposite direction.
chami@heraldcorp.com
