Translation result.
[Herald Economy=Reporter Yoon Seong-hyun] On the first day of the long “golden” holiday stretching from Labor Day to Children’s Day, people poured onto major roads, into airports and to amusement parks across the country. With bright spring weather, highways began to back up early, and crowds gathered at popular tourist sites and downtown events.
The Korea Expressway Corporation estimated about 6.05 million vehicles would travel nationwide that day. It warned that a drive from the Seoul tollgate to Busan could take as long as 9 hours and 10 minutes. If congestion worsened, travel times could reach 7 hours 30 minutes to Gwangju, 8 hours 10 minutes to Mokpo, and 6 hours 20 minutes to Gangneung.
The corporation expected southbound congestion to ease around 9–10 p.m. and northbound traffic to begin clearing around 10–11 p.m.
As of 6 p.m., southbound lanes on the Gyeongbu Expressway were slow in several stretches: Anseong–Cheonan for 21 km, around Independence Hall–Oksan Junction for 12 km, and between Namcheongju and Biryong Junction for 26 km. The Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway was also sluggish near Yeonpung Tunnel–Mungyeong rest area for 27 km and between Yeoju Junction and Gamgok for 10 km.
Airports expected big crowds too, as many travelers headed overseas for the holiday. The aviation industry projected roughly 1.3 million combined arrivals and departures at Incheon International Airport over the six-day period from April 30 to May 5. That’s about 217,000 passengers per day on average, slightly above the airport’s usual roughly 200,000 daily users.
Amusement parks and hiking trails saw steady streams of visitors. Online community posts showed photos and videos of families filling Yongin’s Everland.
Hikers swarmed Mount Gwanak, prompting local officials to warn of safety risks. Anyang city cautioned that “a large crowd has gathered around Yeonjudae at the Gwanak summit, raising concerns about accidents,” and advised people to avoid the mountain or, if they go, to take extra precautions.
In Seongsu-dong, a 30th-anniversary event for the Pokémon franchise drew such dense crowds that organizers halted the event and police and firefighters were called in over safety concerns.
Seoul city officials said foot traffic on Seongsu’s cafe street rose from about 26,000 people at 10 a.m. to roughly 40,000 by noon. They attributed the surge to Pokémon fans who arrived before dawn and to visitors to the Pokémon garden at Seoul Forest’s 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo.
Most Commented