Not Just a Bathroom Break: The Real Reasons You Pull Over at Rest Areas [Digging Travel]

A Few Reasons to Slow Down on the Road
Unique Expressway Rest Areas Spotlighted by Korea Expressway Corporation
Expressway Rest Stops Evolving Through Scenery, Food, and Experiences

When you have been driving on the expressway for a long time, rest areas stop being destinations and start becoming a matter of timing. When to pull over, how long to stay. In the past, the standard was simply restrooms and coffee, but these days it is a bit different. You start to think about where to stop for an open view, and where to eat so that your stomach feels comfortable afterward. The choices you make on the road have changed.

Chilgok Rest Area's popular menu 'Chijeusinaeso' Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Korea Expressway Corporation separately recommends rest areas with outstanding views and selects signature menus through food competitions it organizes itself. This reflects the fact that rest areas are no longer just similar-looking midpoints, but places remembered for different reasons. On the expressways during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2026, rest areas become one of the few choices that can change the rhythm of a trip.

A view of the Light Garden at Deokpyeong Nature Rest Area. Photo by Deokpyeong Nature Rest Area

Places where you stop for the scenery

Geumgang Rest Area

When you arrive at Geumgang Rest Area, you look for a window first. Rather than getting out of the car right away, you check which direction the river is in. The waterway flowing past Geumgang Recreation Area and the mountain ridges beyond it hold your gaze. You see people sitting at outdoor tables sipping coffee, or lingering at their seats for quite some time even after finishing their meals.

This rest area opened in 1971 along with the Gyeongbu Expressway. It is regarded as one of the oldest rest areas in Korea. Resting here feels less like a function and more like scenery. You stop only for a moment, but time seems to slow down.

A 500-year-old zelkova tree guarding Hyeonpung Rest Area. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Hyeonpung Rest Area

Hyeonpung Rest Area sits at a point where the view suddenly opens up. The road you have been driving on widens, and the moment you park, your body relaxes first. During the day, the surrounding landscape spreads out broadly, and as the sun goes down, the lighting changes the texture of the space. On the hill connected to the rest area stands a single zelkova tree over 500 years old. It has long been known as the village guardian tree.

Below it are a small library, a slow mailbox, and wish lanterns. At night, the lights come on and the outline of the ancient tree emerges. It is a place where a brief stop often turns into a longer stay than expected. Many people take a walk here. They walk a loop before getting coffee. Rather than saying the view is good, it is more fitting to say it is where your breathing settles into an easy rhythm.

There is a small park called 'Hyodeurim' at Sancheong Rest Area. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Sancheong Rest Area

Sancheong Rest Area is quiet. Instead, the surrounding nature stands out clearly. The changing seasons show themselves as they are. There is a small park at Sancheong Rest Area called "Hyodream," a name that brings parents to mind. On one side of the park sits a rock that resembles a turtle's head, where passersby often pause for a moment. Some people look at the rock and silently make a wish. If you follow the walking trail a little way up, you reach an observatory. Below, the Gyeongho River unfolds. It is a view you would not normally expect from a rest area.

Gosam Hosu Hyugeso stands out even in scale. This rest area, which opened in February 2026, sits on a site measuring 186,000 square meters, making it the largest rest area in the country. Photo by Gosam Hosu Hyugeso

How far have rest areas changed?

Recently, the way people spend time at rest areas has been changing. Gosam Lake Rest Area on the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway is different in scale from the outset. Opened in February 2026, this rest area occupies a site of 186,000 square meters and is currently considered the largest in the country. Its triangular exterior, department-store-like interior layout, and 38 retail outlets make it feel less like a place to rest and more like a large convenience complex for brief visits.

Chupungnyeong Rest Area has taken a different direction. After a renovation in 2024, it was transformed into an experiential space equipped with a zip coaster, adventure facilities, and a forest playground. If you are traveling with children, it is hard to just drive past.

At Deokpyeong Nature Rest Area, the "Starlight Garden OOOZOO" comes into its own at night. Walking along the illuminated paths, it feels less like a rest area and more like a nighttime park.

Samguk Yusa Gunwi Rest Area turns back the clock. Its 1970s retro-style spaces make it hard to pass by without taking a photo.

Shintanjin Rest Area and Maesong Rest Area now feature traffic accident experience centers. Each center was created by refurbishing a container of about 26 square meters. Inside are more than 100 photographic materials of actual accident scenes and over 40 closed-circuit (CC)TV videos. By experiencing drowsy driving and secondary collisions, visitors are prompted to steady their minds before they get back behind the wheel.

Waegwan handmade sausage budae-jjigae sold at Gyeongbuk Chilgok Rest Area. It won the Grand Prize at the Rest Area Food Festival. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Rest areas you stop at to eat

Chilgok Rest Area's popular menu 'Chijeusinaeso' Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Chilgok Rest Area (toward Busan)

At Chilgok Rest Area, you spend a long time standing in front of the menu board. The signature dish is Waegwan handmade sausage budae-jjigae, but something else really catches the eye. "Chijeu Sinaeso," a sandwich of pork cutlet and cheese between slices of bread. It is harder not to take a photo.

Jumbo Hodugwaja sold at Chilgok Rest Area. It is famous for being five times the size of regular Hodugwaja. Photo by online community

The fist-sized "Jumbo Hodugwaja" is another must. A single snack is enough to make you remember this rest area. It is more accurate to say people stop here to eat rather than simply to rest.

Cockle bibimbap at Boseong Green Tea Rest Area. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Boseong Green Tea Rest Area (toward Yeongam)

At Boseong Green Tea Rest Area, choosing a menu is effectively choosing a taste of the region. Green tea short rib patties, green tea bibimbap, green tea drinks. It is hard to find an item without green tea. Even so, the undisputed signature menu here is cockle bibimbap. Eating here is a way of "passing through" Boseong. It is brief, but the local flavor leaves a clear impression. It feels less like a rest area cafeteria and more like borrowing Boseong's dining table for a moment.

The Lee Jeongdong mukbap at Eumseong Rest Area is the region's representative local dish that won the grand prize at the 24th Chungcheongbuk-do Local Food Competition. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation

Eumseong Rest Area (toward Hanam)

"Ijeongdong Mukbap" at Eumseong Rest Area slows you down. Traditional mukbap, vegetable mukbap, and Imjatang. The subtle aroma of perilla seeds spreads gently, and the broth is mild. There is no need to ask why it won an excellence award at the rest area food competition. This is not a dish you can eat in a hurry and rush off. You naturally eat it slowly, and your body feels comfortable afterward. It is an unexpected bowl of comfort in the middle of the expressway.

These days, rest areas no longer look like the same place wherever you go. At some, the scenery comes to mind first; at others, the food; at others still, a fleeting moment you spent there. And so the reasons you pull over vary little by little.

On an ordinary day you might have just driven on, but on days when traffic is heavy, your eyes are drawn instead toward the rest areas. You step out for a short break to catch your breath, take a walk for no particular reason, and set off again a bit later than you originally planned. That much room for leisure remains on the road.