Expressways are congested on Saturday, the third day of the four-day Chuseok holiday, as South Koreans are heading back to Seoul from their hometowns.

As of 2 p.m., traffic was heavy on major highways in the country with vehicles running at less than 40 kilometers per hour.

Congestion is expected to be the most severe between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday before returning to normal conditions between 3 and 4 a.m. Sunday.

The Korea Expressway Corporation said that as of 2 p.m., it is taking about seven hours from the southern port city Busan to Seoul, more than six hours from Gwangju and nearly four hours from Daejeon and the east coast city of Gangneung.

The corporation forecasts more than five-point-one million cars to hit nationwide expressways on Saturday alone.

The fall harvest celebration of Chuseok is Korea's biggest traditional holiday along with Lunar New Year when family members get together to pay tribute to their ancestors.