Traffic congestion is aggravating on expressways in many parts of the nation as people are hitting the pavement to enjoy the extended Chuseok holiday at their hometowns and beyond. 

The Korea Expressway Corporation estimated that some five-point-41 million vehicles will hit the roads on Friday, including 470-thousand departing the greater Seoul area for non-capital regions. Some 480-thousand vehicles were expected into the capital region. 

As of 4 p.m., the state corporation said vehicles were bumper-to-bumper in 35 kilometer-long southbound sections of Gyeongbu Expressway linking Seoul to Busan. 

Similar snarls were also observed on the Seohaean Expressway connecting the capital region to the southwestern city of Mokpo, including 10 kilometer-long southbound sections. 

The Korea Expressway Corporation forecast the congestion to reach its worst at around 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on many highways before easing about three hours later.