South Korea will embark on a five-day Chuseok(Mid-Autumn) , one of the nation's most celebrated holidays, starting Saturday.

With most public and private workplaces to be closed until Wednesday, government officials expect nearly 40 million South Koreans will head to their hometowns for family reunions or go on overseas or domestic vacations.

Chuseok, the traditional autumn harvest festival, falls on Monday through Wednesday this year and will be extended by two days due to the weekend. Families usually hold memorial services for their ancestors and eat traditional food on the holiday.

The nationwide exodus is expected to create severe traffic jams on major roads, expressways, railroad stations and airports throughout the extended holiday period.

The Seoul metropolitan government, for instance, estimates on the basis of a recent poll that about 3.78 million citizens would leave the capital city during the Chuseok holiday, down 1.7 percent from last year's 3.84 million.

Roads and highways leading out of Seoul will likely be most congested on Monday, as 28.3 percent, or 1.07 million, were found to be planning to depart on that day. The roads will be severely crowded again on Wednesday, with 39.9 percent, or 1.5 million citizens, planning to return to Seoul then. Nearly 80 percent of citizens planning a trip said they will use their own cars for the holiday travels.

With the majority of holiday makers set to hit the road Saturday, airports, train stations and express bus terminals across the country will also be packed throughout the weekend. Officials expect the drive from Seoul to Busan to take more than 10 hours on the peak days, twice the usual time required for the journey.

Korea Railroad and inter-city bus companies plan to increase capacity to accommodate the increase in demand, while local and foreign airlines have scheduled additional flights.

Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and other carriers will add more flights from Sept. 25 to 29 than are usually listed.

Korean Air will add 49 more flights during the holiday. Six of them will be on its Tokyo route, while eight will be on its Sapporo, Japan route. It will also add six flights to Bangkok, four to Manila and six to Guam.

Asiana Airlines, the country's No. 2 carrier, will have 22 additional flights during Chuseok. Four will be added to its Incheon-Tokyo route.

Source: Agencies