Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home

South Korea's highways and expressways saw heavy congestion on Saturday, the third day of the Chuseok holiday. As people began their journey back to their hometowns, travel times to Seoul from Busan were estimated at seven hours, from Mokpo at six hours and 40 minutes, from Daegu at six hours, and from Gwangju at five hours and 20 minutes, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. Conversely, trips from Seoul to Busan were projected to take five hours and 10 minutes, to Daegu at four hours and 10 minutes, and to Gwangju at three hours and 20 minutes.

Chuseok, South Korea's Thanksgiving equivalent, ran from Thursday to Sunday. Families visited their hometowns, engaged in family reunions, performed ancestral rites, and enjoyed traditional holiday foods. Expressways directing traffic to Seoul experienced early congestion on Saturday, though traffic moving in the opposite direction showed some improvement.

The state-run company predicted peak congestion between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with easing expected between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday. It was estimated that 5.9 million vehicles were affected by the congestion.