People getting ready to board a train at the Seoul Railway Station ahead of the upcoming 'Chuseok' or mid-autumn harvest festival holiday which falls on Oct 6. - AP
SEOUL: Highways across South Korea ground to a crawl and Incheon International Airport saw record passenger traffic Friday (Oct 3), as millions hit the road or boarded flights on the first day of the Chuseok or mid-autumn harvest festival; holiday.
Traffic congestion began on major highways in the morning, the Korea Expressway Corp. said.
As of 9am, estimated travel times from Seoul tollgates were seven hours to Busan, six hours and 30 minutes to Ulsan, six hours and 10 minutes to Mokpo, six hours to Daegu, five hours and 40 minutes to Gwangju, four hours and 10 minutes to Gangneung, and three hours and 40 minutes to Daejeon.
In the opposite direction, estimated travel times to Seoul were five hours and 10 minutes from Busan, four hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan, three hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, four hours and 10 minutes from Daegu, three hours and 20 minutes from Gwangju, two hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, and one hour and 33 minutes from Daejeon.
About 5.24 million vehicles were expected to be on the move nationwide, including 440,000 leaving the Seoul metropolitan area for the provinces and 430,000 travelling from the provinces into the capital region.
Traffic is projected to be heaviest on Sunday, the day of Chuseok, with congestion expected to ease to normal levels by Wednesday afternoon.
Seoul Station was crowded from early morning Thursday with holiday travellers heading to visit their families.
To accommodate demand, Korail has implemented special transport measures for the holiday period, which began Wednesday. The company is operating 10 additional trains a day until Oct. 12, providing an average of 330,000 seatsa day.
As of 8am Friday, overall train reservations had reached nearly 80 per cent, with southbound routes recording a booking rate of 95.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, demand for overseas travel surged, with Incheon International Airport forecast to post a record number of passengers during the holiday. Airport authorities said about 2.45 million travelers are expected to use the airport during the seven-day holiday period from Friday through Thursday — an average of 223,000 passengers a day. - The Korea Herald/ANN
