Nighttime Chuseok crashes in South Korea show 4x higher fatality rate

Each year, as South Korea's families traverse the nation to honor their ancestors during Chuseok, the roads carry not only reunion but risk — and the darkest hours carry the heaviest toll. Over five years, the stretch between midnight and dawn has proven four times more lethal per collision than the crowded afternoon, not because more crashes occur, but because exhaustion and speed transform each one into something far more consequential. With 6.05 million vehicles expected daily this holiday season, the question is whether awareness alone can interrupt a pattern written in both data and grief