Seoul: Major expressways nationwide were congested Thursday as people returned home on the final day of the extended Chuseok holiday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this year’s weeklong extended holiday runs through Thursday, as Chuseok, which fell on Monday this year, connects with two national holidays-National Foundation Day on Oct. 3 and Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, which marks the creation of the Korean alphabet.

As of 5 p.m., travel times to Seoul had been estimated at 5 hours and 10 minutes from the southeastern city of Busan, 4 hours and 40 minutes from the southwestern city of Gwangju, and more than three hours from the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC).

The KEC said homebound traffic may begin easing at 10 to 11 p.m. after peaking at 4 to 5 p.m.

A total of 5.13 million vehicles were forecast to move across the country Thursday, including 400,000 leaving the Seoul metropolitan area for other provinces and 390,000 heading toward Seoul from other regions.