Holiday travel back into Seoul has begun in full swing, with the snow on ground resulting in more hours on expressways nationwide.

The Korea Expressway Corporation projected that some 450-thousand vehicles are heading back to Seoul on Tuesday as the five-day Lunar New Year holiday draws to an end. 

As of noon, a trip from the southern port city of Busan to Seoul is expected to take eight hours and ten minutes, while one from Gangneung on the east coast to Seoul is expected to take four hours and 20 minutes. 

Traffic to Seoul is likely to peak at 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

The usual holiday exemption on toll fees is suspended this year and only take-out is available at rest stop cafeterias. Temporary COVID-19 test sites are being run at seven major rest stops throughout the holiday.