Exodus for Chuseok begins

The annual Chuseok exodus has begun as people across the country headed for their hometowns on Friday with the traditional holiday starting this weekend. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs predicted about 29 million of the nation's total 49 million population will hit the road during the four-day Chuseok holiday that runs through Tuesday. As the holiday period is shorter than in past years, travelers are expected to suffer worsened traffic conditions. Chuseok is one of the country's major traditional holidays marked on Aug. 15 of the lunar calendar, which this year falls on Monday. Families living apart get together to pay tribute to ancestors and visit their graves in a gesture of gratitude. A total of 102,000 cars had left Seoul as of 10:00 a.m. on Friday and the outbound traffic is expected to gain pace before reaching a peak over the weekend, road authorities said. State-run Korea Expressway Corp. said a total of 400,000 vehicles are estimated to head out of Seoul on Friday alone. Homecoming crowds also gathered to take public transportation, with tickets for rail and air travel almost sold out. "Morning tickets bound for regional cities were partly available during the morning, but afternoon tickets are virtually all sold out," said an official at Korea Railroad, the rail agency. Domestic flights bound for provincial cities from Seoul during the weekend are all sold out while flights back to Seoul on Monday and Tuesday are mostly reserved, according to the two major flagship air carriers: Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. About 28,346 people are expected to take domestic flights from Gimpo International Airport in Seoul to regional cities, airport authorities said. Bus terminals still have some available seats, and extra vehicles will be added in the afternoon when a flood of people is expected to crowd in after work, bus operators said. "It seems that passengers may flood in from late afternoon today and for tomorrow (the terminal) may see even more crowds setting foot here," said an official at Seoul Express Bus Terminal in southern Seoul. The transportation authorities said Sunday morning will experience the heaviest traffic loads with people heading southward from Seoul while late Monday will see the peak of people returning to Seoul. The government will add extra trains, buses, and air and sea carriers in order to provide holiday travelers with safety and convenience. Information on traffic and road conditions can be accessed real time at http://cyber.mltm.go.kr/traffic and www.twitter.com/happytraffic, the land ministry said.