Holiday Traffic to Peak on Saturday

Published on 2020/01/21 | Source

Traffic on the country's roads over the Lunar New Year holiday is expected to peak on Saturday.

SK Telecom, the operator of navigation app T map used by some 12.5 million drivers, analyzed traffic flow during the Lunar New Year holiday over the past five years to help drivers waste as little time as possible on the road.

The best time to avoid congestion for travel from Seoul will be before 10 a.m. Thursday, the day before the holiday starts, or before 5 a.m. on Friday. If that is not possible the next best window is after 4 p.m. Friday.

T map predicts that it will take five hours and 20 minutes from Seoul to Busan and five hours and 50 minutes from Seoul to Gwangju if drivers set off at 9 a.m. Thursday, and four hours and 10 minutes to Busan and six hours to Gwangju if they leave Seoul at 4 a.m. Friday.

The worst traffic is expected on Saturday because most people will head back to Seoul right after the traditional rituals in the morning, and others visit ancestral tombs and holidaymakers go for outings.

At that time the trip between Seoul and Busan will take more than eight hours and between Seoul and Gwangju more than six hours.

The best time for the return trip to Seoul will be before 8 a.m. or after 3 p.m. on the last day of the holiday, which is Monday.