{
  "id": 9288398,
  "title": "Expressway congestion begins ahead of Chuseok holiday",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/expressway-congestion-begins-ahead-of-chuseok-holiday-9288398",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T06:52:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20260923/expressway-congestion-begins-ahead-of-chuseok-holiday"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As the annual Chuseok holiday commenced on Wednesday, a massive influx of Koreans began their journeys back to their hometowns for family reunions and ancestral visits. The four-day holiday, spanning from Thursday to Sunday, prompts a significant increase in traffic on major expressways nationwide, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. By Wednesday afternoon, congestion had already started to build, with the corporation forecasting a surge in vehicle numbers.\n\nKorea Expressway Corp. predicts a heavier-than-usual traffic flow on Wednesday, with an estimated 6.13 million vehicles anticipated to be on the roads during the day. Among them, 510,000 vehicles were projected to depart from the Seoul metropolitan area, heading to various regions, while 450,000 would be making the return trip from those areas to Seoul.\n\nTo provide a sense of the journey times, the Korea Expressway Corp. estimated that a 420-kilometer drive from Seoul to Busan, in the southeast, would require around seven hours and 30 minutes. Similarly, the route from Seoul to Gwangju, a southwestern city, would take approximately six hours and 50 minutes. The heavy traffic expected during this period underscores the scale of the Chuseok exodus, with families and individuals making their way across the country for the traditional holiday.",
  "summary": "The annual exodus for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, began Wednesday as Koreans headed to their hometowns for family reunions and took trips during the extended holiday. This year's four-day Chuseok holiday runs from Thursday to Sunday. Traditionally, Koreans return to their hometowns during Chuseok to reunite with family members and pay respects at their ancestors' graves.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "BOK supplies 3.65 tln won in fresh banknotes ahead of Chuseok",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/bok-supplies-3-65-tln-won-in-fresh-banknotes-ahead-of-chuseok",
        "published": "2026-09-23T03:00:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "BOK supplies $2.69 bil. in fresh banknotes ahead of Chuseok",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/bok-supplies-2-69-bil-in-fresh-banknotes-ahead-of-chuseok",
        "published": "2026-09-23T03:52:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KBS World Radio",
        "title": "Highways Already Witnessing Chuseok Traffic a Day ahead of Holiday",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/highways-already-witnessing-chuseok-traffic-a-day-ahead-of-holiday",
        "published": "2026-09-23T06:46:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}