South Korea Braces for Heavy Weekend Expressway Traffic Amid Early Summer Travel Boom

South Korea is preparing for a surge in expressway traffic this weekend, driven by pleasant early summer weather encouraging more people to travel. The Korea Expressway Corporation forecasts a total of 5.55 million vehicles on Saturday and 4.9 million on Sunday. This increase in travel is expected to cause significant congestion, especially on the Yeongdong and Seoul-Yangyang expressways.

Southbound traffic is anticipated to face the worst delays. Congestion is predicted to begin around 7-8 AM, peak between 11 AM and 12 PM, and is not expected to ease until 7-8 PM. For traffic heading towards Seoul, delays are expected to start between 9-10 AM, reach their peak in the late afternoon (4-5 PM), and gradually improve by 8-9 PM.

Several sections of major highways are already experiencing slowdowns. The Gyeongbu Expressway southbound is congested near Namsa, and northbound traffic is slow near Suwon. The Seoul-Yangyang Expressway is seeing delays near Namyangju and Chuncheon. The Yeongdong Expressway towards Gangneung also has slow-moving traffic in multiple sections, as does the Jungbu Expressway heading south. The Seohaean Expressway towards Mokpo is also experiencing traffic jams.

Travel times are significantly extended. A car trip from Seoul to Busan is estimated to take 5 hours and 40 minutes southbound. Other long-distance journeys include Seoul to Daegu (4 hours 40 minutes), Seoul to Gwangju (4 hours 20 minutes), and Seoul to Gangneung (3 hours 40 minutes). Northbound journeys are generally shorter, with Busan to Seoul estimated at 5 hours 10 minutes.