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Radio Traffic Reporter Hopes to Serve as Tonic for Harried Drivers

Since 2004, Lee Seu-ri has been working as a reporter delivering traffic information for Seoul residents as a part-time host for SBS radio.

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She comes on air at three minutes before the hour, every hour, during her day shift to inform listeners of local traffic conditions and provide other useful tips relating to the weather and daily life.

She originally dreamed of becoming a news show host, but after failing to land a job with several broadcasting stations she discovered she had a knack for delivering the news by radio.

Lee usually reports from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, since she has to watch closed circuit TV monitors showing traffic flows in Seoul. Although she delivers traffic information in a short time slot between other regular shows, she has to pay attention to traffic conditions even while not on the air.

Ten minutes before she is due to go on air, she can be seen hurriedly preparing scripts and gathering real-time traffic information from various sources, including the monitors and the webpage of Korea Expressway Corp. To save time, she summarizes the traffic conditions in writing and makes a list of the major roads involved, but memorizes all the finer details.

Traffic conditions are so unpredictable that it is no use writing scripts well in advance as she constantly updates them. She also has to package the news and time it perfectly while regulating her speech patterns in order to fit into her 50-second time slot and transition smoothly to the next show.

Appearance is not much of a concern for her but she tries to keep her voice upbeat in the hope that listeners will enjoy her broadcasts. Lee said she hopes her cheerful deliveries serve as a tonic for those caught in heavy traffic.

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