◀ Anchor ▶
Are you safe on the way home?
Today, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, highways across the country were filled with homecoming processions all day long.
Today’s News Desk will tell you the current road conditions first.
Now, there is a reporter at the Seoul Tollgate.
Reporter Kim Min-hyung, have the blocked sections decreased now?
◀ Reporter ▶
Yes, major sections of national highways were crowded from the morning with vehicles on their way home from early morning.
It is estimated that 4.42 million vehicles have moved so far.
The congestion was the worst around 12 noon today, and it was mostly resolved between 6 and 7 pm.
If you leave Seoul now, it takes 4 hours and 30 minutes to Busan, 1 hour and 30 minutes to Daejeon, and 3 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo.
Let’s see it together on the highway closed circuit screen.
First, it is near the Cheongju Interchange on the Gyeongbu Line.
Vehicle flow is currently very smooth in both the Seoul and Busan directions.
Next is the junction of the East and West Streams along the West Coast Line.
Cars are running smoothly in both directions without congestion.
◀ Anchor ▶
There must have been many people going home not only by the four highways, but also by using terminals or passenger ships.
There must have been many people going home.
Please tell us the mood today.
◀ Reporter ▶
Yes. As the Lunar New Year holiday began in earnest, the whole place was crowded with people going back to their hometowns.
Even though they were tired from the long journey, the returnees were happy to meet their families whom they hadn’t seen in a while.
In the habitually congested sections of major highways, a frustrating flow of vehicles continued throughout the day.
Tired of the endless congestion, vehicles lined up in long lines at sleepy shelters and rest areas.
[신용이/서울 상도동]
“I started from Sangdo-dong (Seoul), and it takes about 5 hours (to Jinan, Jeonbuk), right now.
The granddaughter was excited to go to her grandmother’s house after a long time.
[이도성·이예은]
“I want to play with my grandmother and her cats!”
Snacks and meals bought at service areas are an indispensable pleasure of highway travel.
[송민자/휴게소 직원]
“Mostly, it’s something you can eat simply. ‘Sotteoksotteok’. Most of the tteokbokki types go well.”
The express bus terminal was also crowded with people who belatedly tried to get on the bus to their hometown.
At the ferry terminal that connects the islands in the West Sea and Incheon, homecoming guests were busy walking with their hands full of luggage.
Returnees who arrived in their hometowns early greeted their ancestors by visiting their graves early.
The Korea Expressway Corporation predicted that tomorrow, the day of the Lunar New Year, there would be 6.12 million vehicles on the highway, which would be more clogged than today.
It is expected that congestion will continue from 6 am to 8 pm to 9 pm in the homeward direction, and from 9 am to 2 am to 3 am the day after tomorrow in the direction of Seoul.
This is MBC News Kim Min-hyeong from the Seoul Tollgate.
Video coverage: Park Joo-young, Na Kyung-un / Video editing: Lee Hwa-young / Helicopter coverage: Min Byeong-ho, Kim Kang-young
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