South Koreans Started Annual Mass Migration For ‘Chuseok Holiday’

South Koreans started the yearly mass migration where in people came back to their hometowns for the Chuseok Holiday celebration.

Chuseok, a three-day holiday in South Korea is similar to the Thanksgiving day in the United States. Chuseok falls on September 15th, Thursday, together with the official holiday period which is Wednesday to Sunday.

Chuseok holiday is one of the largest and most valuable Holidays in South Korea. This year's Chuseok holiday takes place in five days which is from September 14 to 18 including the weekend. This provides good opportunity to many South Koreans to enjoy the traditional and cultural experiences as well as to spend time with their friends and families.

Aside from Lunar New Year's Day or Seollal, Chuseok holiday records the longest holiday in South Korea where in many people came back to their hometowns to spend time with their families and perform ancestral rituals.

During the Chuseok holiday celebration there are lots of customs and traditions that are done within the holiday like the Charye, an ancestor memorial services, Beolcho which is the cleaning of weeds around a grave, Seongmyo which is the visiting of the grave, Ssireum which is a traditional wrestling in Korea and many more.

Lots of train stations and bus terminals in different parts of the country especially in Seoul, have streamed many travelers because Seoul is the capital city that connects to the regional cities and towns across the country.

According to Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC), around 230,000 cars have left Seoul by 2p.m. and the number increased during midnight with another 270,000 cars. However, the total number of vehicles that used the roads and highways all over South Korea is expected to garner about 4.6 million by Tuesday.

"The number has been constantly increasing since noon and it will reach its peak at around 7 to 8 p.m. when most travelers hit the road after quitting time," a KEC official said.

Furthermore, the Korea Transport Institute said that the estimated number of travelers in South Korea during the Chuseok holiday reaches around 37 million overall.