Heavy traffic began to build up on major roads and highways across South Korea on Wednesday as people headed to their hometowns to celebrate the extended Chuseok holiday.

Chuseok, which falls on Friday this year, is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving during which people get together with family members and relatives and visit their ancestors' graves.

The extended Chuseok break this year gives people six days off until next Tuesday, as an extra one-day temporary holiday and National Foundation Day will follow.

Some 5.85 million vehicles were expected to hit the road on the eve of the rare six-day holiday, with the traffic forecast to peak at around 6-7 p.m. and continue through the next day, according to the Korea Expressway Corp.

Traveling from Seoul to Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of the capital, was expected to take about seven hours, with the trip to Daegu, 237 km southeast, to take about six hours and to the southwestern city of Gwangju about 6 1/2 hours, the traffic agency said. (Yonhap)