{
  "id": 9542699,
  "title": "Traffic eases on 1st night of Chuseok as people head home",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/traffic-eases-on-1st-night-of-chuseok-as-people-head-home-9542699",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-24T11:17:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20260924/traffic-eases-on-1st-night-of-chuseok-as-people-head-home"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Traffic conditions along major highways in South Korea improved significantly on the first day of the Chuseok holiday on Thursday evening, as millions of people began their journey home to reunite with their families. This year's Chuseok holiday, which marks the harvest season, spans from Thursday to Sunday, encouraging traditional family reunions and ancestral visits. According to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC), travel time from Seoul to Busan had dropped to approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes by 7 p.m., a reduction from previous estimates. Similar improvements were noted on routes to Daegu, Gwangju, and Daejeon, with travel durations ranging from three to four hours. The KEC reported that around 6.16 million vehicles were anticipated to be traveling nationwide on the first day of the holiday, including more than 510,000 cars departing the Seoul metropolitan area and approximately 380,000 vehicles making the trip from other regions to Seoul.",
  "summary": "Traffic congestion on Korean highways eased Thursday evening as people headed to their hometowns to reunite with family on the first day of the Chuseok holiday period. This year's holiday period marking the fall harvest 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. As of 7…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "(LEAD) Traffic eases on 1st night of Chuseok as people head home",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/lead-traffic-eases-on-1st-night-of-chuseok-as-people-head-home",
        "published": "2026-09-24T10:31:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Traffic eases on 1st night of Chuseok as people head home",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/traffic-eases-on-1st-night-of-chuseok-as-people-head-home",
        "published": "2026-09-24T10:52:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}