Korea Expressway Corp. said Thursday the traffic jam on major roads and expressways is expected to ease later in the day, the first day of the Chuseok holiday.

Chuseok, which falls on Friday this year, is the Korean autumn harvest celebration during which people head to their hometowns to get together with family members and relatives and visit their ancestors' graves.

The extended Chuseok break this year gives people six days off until Tuesday, as an extra one-day temporary holiday and National Foundation Day will follow.

Nearly 5.7 million vehicles are expected to hit the road on the first day of the rare six-day holiday, with the road congestion expected to ease after 8-9 p.m., according to the traffic agency.

Traveling from Seoul to Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of the capital, is estimated to take more than seven hours, with the trip to Daegu, 237 km southeast, to take nearly six hours and to the southwestern city of Gwangju more than six hours, the agency said. (Yonhap)