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5.2 mln cars to hit the road on 1st day of Lunar New Year holiday

February 9, 2024

Some 5.2 million cars were expected to hit the road nationwide Friday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as people head to their hometowns.

Among such cars, some 490,000 vehicles were expected to leave the greater Seoul area for provincial regions, while 370,000 cars were forecast to travel into the city, according to the Korea Expressway Corp.

Heavy southward traffic congestion observed on major highways during the morning started to diminish in the afternoon, and the agency predicted that congestion may fully ease up around 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

As of 5 p.m., the travel time from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan had been 4 1/2 hours and 3 1/2 hours to the southern city of Gwangju.

Traffic congestion on roads heading back to Seoul is expected to have been at its worst between noon and 1 p.m. and to ease between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., it added.

This year’s Lunar New Year falls on Saturday, with the holiday being extended to four days due to Monday becoming a temporary holiday.

The southbound Gyeongbu Expressway is packed with cars leaving Seoul on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday on Feb. 9, 2024. (Yonhap)
The southbound Gyeongbu Expressway is packed with cars leaving Seoul on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday on Feb. 9, 2024. (Yonhap)