Opening of the Gyeongbu Expressway

The 428 km expressway linking Seoul and Busan opened after two and a half years of construction, putting the whole country within a day’s travel.

Under the Second Five-Year Economic Development Plan (1967–1971) the Park Chung-hee government set out to build expressways to move export goods and materials quickly. Construction began on 1 February 1968 and the whole Seoul–Busan route opened on 7 July 1970. The Gyeongin Expressway linking Seoul and Incheon had opened in December 1968.

The rushed construction cost 77 lives. The expressway became the country’s main north–south artery, supporting logistics and industrialization, and was followed by the Honam, Yeongdong and other expressways that formed a national network.