Commuters hot under the collar as snow, ice gridlock roads across Seoul

Heavy snow that gridlocked roads in Seoul and Gyeonggi on Thursday night caused delays that persisted into Friday morning’s commute, triggering complaints that local authorities did not prepare despite early forecasts.

Roads near Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno District, western Seoul, are congested due to heavy snowfall on Dec. 4. [YONHAP]

Heavy snow that gridlocked roads in Seoul and Gyeonggi on Thursday night caused delays that persisted into Friday morning’s commute, triggering complaints that local authorities did not prepare despite early forecasts.

Commuters reported hourslong delays as roads iced over and public transport stalled. An office worker surnamed Kim said the drive from western Seoul’s Mapo District to eastern Seoul's Seongdong District took three and a half hours on Thursday night. Kim struggled again on Friday morning to return home after an overnight shift.

“It was awful being stuck on the road with nowhere to go,” Kim said.

Public transit disruptions stretched into the night. Lee Jang-ho, a university student in Incheon, said they tried to return home from central Seoul around 10 p.m., but express buses had stopped running because of the snow. Lee waited more than 30 minutes for a taxi and paid 36,000 won ($24), including a surcharge.

“I understand that heavy snow can disrupt public transportation,” Lee said. “But the forecasts warned about snow days earlier. I expected authorities to be prepared, so seeing the system break down was disappointing.”

Users on X posted that they were told to get off stalled buses or chose to walk after waiting for hours.

“I left work at 6 p.m. and didn’t get home until after midnight," one user wrote. "I was stuck on the bus for more than three hours and eventually everyone got off in the middle of the road because we couldn’t take it any more.”

Vehicles come to a stop on an icy section of the Dongho Bridge overpass near Apgujeong Station in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 4, in this photo provided by a reader to Yonhap. [YONHAP]

The Friday morning commute also saw accidents on untreated roads. One woman was spotted slipping while going down a slope near Gongdeok Station in western Seoul.

Moon Kyung-suk, who sells gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) at the Yeouido bus transfer center, said she left home at 6 a.m. and found sidewalks and curbs still icy.

“The roads weren’t cleared, so I had to tense up while walking and now my legs hurt,” Moon said. “The curbs weren’t cleared either. I even saw someone take a bad fall on my way in.”

Public frustration rose as many noted that the first snowfall caused major disruptions for a second year in a row. Seoul recorded more than 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) of snow during last year’s first snowfall.

A delivery worker named Kim said, “Last year’s first snow also delayed deliveries and caused major problems at work,” adding, “I expected things to be different this year, but I can’t help questioning whether the government prepared properly.”

A pedestrian walks carefully on an icy staircase near Itaewon Station in central Seoul on Dec. 5 as a cold snap freezes roads following heavy snowfall. [YONHAP]

Authorities said they activated emergency operations ahead of the snowfall. The central government launched Level 1 of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

Level 1 is issued when forecasters expect at least 5 centimeters of new snowfall within 24 hours and when a heavy snow advisory is in effect.

Seoul and Gyeonggi also issued Level 1 alerts and deployed workers and equipment, including 5,000 personnel and 1,100 snow removal vehicles in Seoul. But gridlock kept crews from reaching affected areas.

A Seoul official said snowfall peaked during rush hour and that pre-spread deicing agents melted the snow, which then froze as temperatures fell.

“It’s true that this led to public inconvenience,” the official said. “When roads are gridlocked, snow removal vehicles cannot operate. We are reviewing plans to expand heated road systems and automatic salt brine-spraying equipment in bottleneck areas such as bridge ramps.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN, HAN CHAN-WOO, KWAK JOO-YOUNG [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]