Heavy traffic congestion continues in parts of the country as people hit the roads on the first day of the four-day Lunar New Year holiday on Friday.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of noon, the estimated travel time from Seoul to Busan was seven hours and ten minutes.

The corporation projected travel time of over six and a half hours from Seoul to Ulsan, six hours and ten minutes to Daegu, nearly six hours to Gwangju and almost four hours to Gangneung.

It expects traffic congestion that began Thursday to peak between 11 a.m. and noon, and ease after 8 p.m.

Over half a million vehicles are expected to travel around the country on Friday, with some 490-thousand leaving the metropolitan region to non-capital areas and 370-thousand entering the capital area. 

During the four-day holiday, expressway toll fees are lifted. The government has also expanded roads into the shoulder in 71 sections across the country's highways.