{
  "id": 9889236,
  "title": "Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/highways-congested-on-chuseok-holiday-as-people-return-home-9889236",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-26T02:42:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20260926/highways-congested-on-chuseok-holiday-as-people-return-home"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Saturday, the third day of South Korea's Chuseok holiday, traffic on major roads and expressways was heavily congested as returning residents headed home from their visits. By 9 a.m., the Korea Expressway Corp. estimated travel times to Seoul were significantly longer for those departing from Busan (seven hours), Mokpo (six hours and 40 minutes), Daegu (six hours), and Gwangju (five hours and 20 minutes) compared to the outbound journeys. The holiday, akin to Thanksgiving in the West, runs from Thursday to Sunday, characterized by family reunions, ancestral ceremonies, and traditional feasts. Expressways leading to Seoul saw congestion develop early on Saturday, but traffic moving in the opposite direction improved somewhat. The state-run company predicted peak congestion between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with easing expected between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday. An estimated 5.9 million vehicles were affected by the holiday traffic.",
  "summary": "Major roads and expressways were congested across South Korea on Saturday, the third day of the Chuseok holiday, as people began heading back to their home after visiting their hometowns. As of 9 a.m., travel times to Seoul from the southeastern city of Busan were estimated at seven hours, six hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, six hours from Daegju, and five hours and 20 minutes from the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/highways-congested-on-chuseok-holiday-as-people-return-home",
        "published": "2026-09-26T01:41:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/highways-congested-on-chuseok-holiday-as-people-return-home-9885909",
        "published": "2026-09-26T02:22:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}