Peak traffic volume expected first two days of Lunar New Year holidays

Highways are expected to be most crowded in the morning of the day before and in the afternoon of the Lunar New Year day in this year’s Lunar New Year holidays.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and the Korea Transport Institute said on Tuesday that it surveyed 9,000 households across the country for traffic demand during the Lunar New Year holidays from Jan. 14 through 18 and found it would take about 7 hours 20 minutes from Seoul to Busan, 6 hours 40 minutes from Seoul to Gwangju, and 6 hours 30 minutes from Busan to Seoul and 6 hours from Gwangju to Seoul.

Among the respondents, 39.6 percent said they would go to their hometown in the morning of Feb. 18, followed by the morning of Feb. 19 (17.4 percent) and the afternoon of Feb. 18 (16.5 percent). Around 31.2 percent of the respondents said they would return to Seoul in the afternoon of Feb. 19, followed by the afternoon of Feb. 20 (24.7 percent) and the morning of Feb. 20 (12.8 percent).

It will take longer to get to their hometown and less to be back home by car for the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. It is expected to take 30 more minutes from Seoul to Busan and 10 more minutes from Seoul to Gwangju. However, it would take 10 minutes less from Busan to Seoul and 20 minutes less from Gwangju to Seoul. “The traffic volume heading for Seoul will be dispersed as the holidays will be extended to five days including a weekend,” said a source from the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

Meanwhile, coastal liners will be operated an average of 908 times a day for passengers who are visiting islands, which is a 19 percent increase from the usual average.