“A War to Go Home,” 9 Hours From Seoul to Busan

The movement of the 30 million ‘Hangawee home coming people’ has started.

In express bus terminals, train stations, and airports all over the county, there has been a continuous line of well-dressed home coming people with presents in their hands since the morning of the 19th, a day before the Chusok holidays.

The Korea Highway Corporation predicted that 2.913 million cars would use the expressways to go home nationwide. The Korea Highway Corporation also predicts that about 300,000 cars will leave Seoul on the 19th after 313,000 cars left Seoul on the 18th.

At the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal in Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, more than 40 people made a line in every ticketing window.

Ms. Cha, Mi-Kyong (33. female), who goes to Masan, Gyongnam, said, “I used to use my cars, I will use express bus this time because the traffic would be horrible due to short holidays.”

The Seoul Express Bus Terminal provided 892 additional buses on top of the regular 6,975 buses.

The delays and congestions in the expressways started at 11 o’clock in the morning. Cars kept stopping and going at 16km section between Chungju and Jukam Rest Area, 21km section between Pangyo and Kiheung in Busan bound Gyungbu Line, 8km section between Unsan Tunnel and Haemi in Mokpo bound West Coast Line, and 7km section between Masong and Yongin Rest Area in Gangreung bound Yongdong Line.

The Highway Corporation predicted that it would take 9 hours from Seoul to Busan, 9 and half hours from Seoul to Gwangju, and 4 and half hours from Seoul to Daejon.

Although the Seoul Station put 194 cars in 30 temporary lines that day, they also were sold out. The Office of Korean National Railroads put 492 cars in 74 temporary lines nationwide; however, all the seats were sold out, and every ticketing window was crowed with people who tried to by late night standing tickets and returned tickets.

The Office of Railroads figured that 130,000 people left Seoul by train.

Although all the domestic flight lines were booked, inquiring phone calls to confirm the canceled reservations by the home coming people who could not get tickets at every airline companies were continued.