Seoul, Feb 15 (NationPress) Outbound traffic congestion is anticipated to reach its peak on Sunday as many individuals travel to their hometowns to celebrate the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The country will observe this significant holiday, known as Seol, on Tuesday, with the holiday period commencing over the weekend and extending through Wednesday, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

According to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp, traffic congestion on outbound routes is expected to be most severe between noon and 1 p.m. and will begin to ease around 8 to 9 p.m.

As of 8 a.m., travel from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan, which is approximately 330 kilometers away, is predicted to take around six hours and 10 minutes, while a journey to Daegu, situated about 240 km southeast of Seoul, is forecasted to take 5 hours and 10 minutes.

In contrast, travel times heading back to Seoul are relatively shorter, requiring 5 hours and 10 minutes from Busan and 4 hours and 10 minutes from Daegu.

The agency projects that approximately 5 million vehicles will be on the roads nationwide on Sunday, which includes 450,000 cars departing from the greater Seoul area and 380,000 cars making their way toward it.

In the meantime, North Korea will be celebrating a longer Lunar New Year holiday this year, as it closely follows the national holiday commemorating the birthday of the late leader Kim Jong-il.

This year, North Korea's one-day Lunar New Year holiday falls on Tuesday, which is shorter than South Korea's three-day celebration.

This year's Lunar New Year is set for a day after the late leader's birthday on Monday, following Sunday, providing North Koreans with a three-day holiday.

Typically, North Koreans observe the new year according to the Western calendar, while South Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year with greater enthusiasm.

Initially, the socialist North Korea had renounced this traditional holiday as a feudal relic, but reinstated it in 1989, along with the other traditional holiday, Chuseok, during the regime of Kim Jong-il.

Today, North Korea utilizes this traditional holiday not just to honor ancestral families, but also to commemorate the accomplishments of its two late leaders, including state founder Kim Il-sung, and to reinforce loyalty to the current leader, Kim Jong-un.

During the Lunar New Year, North Koreans customarily visit the Kumsusan mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the deceased leaders are interred, or pay respects at their statues across the nation by laying flowers.

Restaurants remain open and bustling with diners throughout the holiday season, as travel to other regions or hometowns is regulated and only permitted with authorization.