광복절 연휴 첫날 고속도로 정체…서울에서 부산까지 7시간 50분

Motorways Jam on the First Day of the Liberation Day Weekend — Seoul to Busan in 7 Hours 50

Part of the August 15, 2026 daily edition

광복절 연휴 첫날인 8월 15일 전국 고속도로 곳곳에서 정체가 빚어졌습니다. 한국도로공사에 따르면 이날 전국 고속도로 교통량은 569만 대로 예상됐습니다. 수도권에서 지방으로 이동하는 차량은 45만 대, 지방에서 수도권으로 들어오는 차량은 42만 대로 전망됐습니다. 오전 10시 요금소 출발 기준 서울에서 부산까지 소요 시간은 7시간 50분, 대구 6시간 50분, 광주 5시간 40분, 대전 4시간 10분, 강릉 6시간 50분, 울산 7시간 30분, 목포 6시간 30분입니다. 지방 방향 정체는 오전 6~7시께 시작해 오전 11시~정오께 절정에 달한 뒤 오후 7~8시께 해소될 것으로 예상됐습니다. 서울 방향은 오전 9~10시께 정체가 시작돼 오후 4~5시께 가장 심해지고 오후 8~9시께 풀릴 것으로 전망됐습니다. 특히 강원도로 막바지 피서객이 몰리며 영동고속도로와 서울양양고속도로가 막힐 것으로 예상됐습니다.

Translation

On August 15, the first day of the Liberation Day weekend, motorways were congested in many places across the country. According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, traffic on motorways nationwide was expected to reach 5.69 million vehicles that day. Some 450,000 vehicles were forecast to travel from the capital region to the provinces, and 420,000 to come into the capital region from the provinces. Leaving a tollgate at 10 a.m., the drive from Seoul to Busan was expected to take 7 hours 50 minutes; Daegu 6 hours 50, Gwangju 5 hours 40, Daejeon 4 hours 10, Gangneung 6 hours 50, Ulsan 7 hours 30 and Mokpo 6 hours 30. Congestion heading out of the capital was expected to begin around 6 to 7 a.m., peak between 11 a.m. and noon, and clear around 7 to 8 p.m. Traffic towards Seoul was expected to start backing up around 9 to 10 a.m., be at its worst around 4 to 5 p.m., and clear around 8 to 9 p.m. With late-summer holidaymakers heading for Gangwon in particular, the Yeongdong Expressway and the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway were expected to be busy.

Vocabulary

정체명사 (noun)congestion, a traffic jam
교통량명사 (noun)traffic volume, the number of vehicles
요금소명사 (noun)tollgate
소요 시간명사구 (noun phrase)the time a journey takes
절정명사 (noun)the peak, the height (of something)
해소되다동사 (verb)to be cleared up, resolved
피서객명사 (noun)people travelling to escape the summer heat

Grammar points

N 기준on the basis of N, as measured from N

States the condition under which a figure holds. 오전 10시 요금소 출발 기준 7시간 50분 means the journey takes that long only if you leave at that hour — leave at a different time and the number no longer applies. Korean notices put 기준 wherever a number depends on an assumption, and it is the phrase that tells you how far to trust the figure.

Example: 어제 오후 6시 기준 집계입니다.

It is a tally as of 6 p.m. yesterday.

-(으)ㄹ 것으로 예상되다is expected to ~

The forecast form, and the reason almost every sentence in this story is a prediction rather than a report — the article was written in the morning about a day still under way. Read every 예상된다 as 'this is what was expected', and keep it separate from what actually happened later.

Example: 내일은 비가 올 것으로 예상됩니다.

Rain is expected tomorrow.

N께around N (a time)

Attached to a time expression, 께 says 'roughly then'. It is the traffic forecaster's hedge — 오전 6~7시께 already gives a range, and 께 loosens it further. In writing you will also meet 쯤, which is interchangeable here; 께 sounds slightly more formal.

Example: 저녁 7시께 도착할 것 같습니다.

I think I will arrive around seven in the evening.

광복절 연휴 첫날 고속도로 정체…서울에서 부산까지 7시간 50분

Translation

Vocabulary

Grammar points

N 기준on the basis of N, as measured from N

-(으)ㄹ 것으로 예상되다is expected to ~

N께around N (a time)

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