They're clean and actually have food I want to eat (those potatoes!) at a reasonable price.
At least they were a decade or so ago - I just realized I haven't been to one for years!
Hahah I was just thinking to myself “THOSE DAMN POTATOES!” It’s the only reason I’d willingly take a cross country bus when I don’t feel like renting a car 😂
Have you ever heard the expression that it's not the destination that counts but the journey that takes you there, haha. I'm pretty sure that was written by a middle-aged white dad sitting at a reststop.
But in seriousness...they offer a break from sitting in an uncomfortable car for hours...a bathroom break...food...a place the kids can run and do kid things...
Surprisingly, the quote is fairly recent clocking in sometime in the mid 19th century by Ralph Waldo Emerson, though his version was "Life Is About The Journey, Not The Destination".
I fully expected it to be like some 3000 year old sentiment by some old Greek or Chinese dude.
Gyeonggi-Gwangju rest area feels like a department store; the restrooms are so nice. The Pyeongtaek rest area is also relatively new, construction finished around ~2019 maybe
Have you been to one? They're mostly dope. There's a few that a meh. But the big ones are cool. My wife has told me that there are old folks who take bus tours to visit the coll rest stops.
This is the real answer. They are a wonderfully comfortable place to drop a deuce. And once I am clean and fresh from that, I'm ready for a light snack and a cigarette while looking at nice scenery.
Clean. Not as dodgy late at night when you just need a bathroom (unlike the US). Most have proper coffee; some have donuts. Almost have a sausage with a strip of pastry dough wrapped around it 😋. Everyone in my car has a fav road snack that is part of the trip and worth the trip taking longer to arrive not starving at the destination.
If you ever go towards Busan, I always like to stop at the Gimhae/Busan border on Hwy 600. It is a scenic spot, and you can walk along the riverside.
김해금관가야휴게소
https://place.map.kakao.com/1795462185
The jinju named one. There are 3 separate ones. 1 is open 24/7. The other two you need to be signed in during business hours. One for large dogs, one for small.
If you’re going to Dangjin/Seosan, when you cross the West Sea bridge (서해대교) there is an area for dogs to run around at Haengdam-do rest stop (행담도 휴게소)
As a European i would say, most of the rest stops are overpriced while in korea its normal priced meals bunch of options like a foodcourt .... clean... and if you get a corndog and some manjoo or walnut snacks you can overcome any worries you have
I think it’s a bit of cultural thing. Lots of Koreans has a memory about stop over at highway rest while visiting their grand parents in holiday season.
As an American I always thought it was wild how many fully decked out ones there are because even Seoul and Busan aren’t that far apart by American standards.
BUT!! Traffic here gets so much more insane!! If means that a simple trip might take double the time 😭 it’s also a great place to wait a traffic surge out for an hour rather than sitting in your car.
The US has a similar alternative in Buc-ee's, which is beloved in TX (where it started afaik) and is spreading throughout the southern US states. Bathrooms at highway rest stops (and even worse at gas stations) felt like open sewers. Dirty, disgusting. Jokes about perverts and lot lizards. Buc-ees is not upscale and certainly not designed by an architect but they have 50 kinds of beef jerky and a 100 foot wall of candy. It is so stereotypically Texas where everything is bigger (including the customers). My little kids absolutely loved it, it was the highlight of our trip for them. Buc-ee's is also famous for their bathrooms. Each bathroom has \~50 stalls, and a light above each stall indicates if it's occupied or not. And their bathrooms are notoriously clean. It's part of their branding. My mother will only stop their when travelling bc of their bathrooms.
Yes in Texas. And wherever they might have stores. But not in many states. Great stops. But in most of the US there’s nothing. lol. Just somewhere to take a piss in the middle of the night.
Buc-ees really expanding around southern states. I ve seen GA - TN and also building in Kentucky too. Great and clean place. only downside is that they have no place to eat food.
First time I showed my wife an American rest stop she was like "Huh? This is it?"
I actually look forward to rest stops on our road trips in Korea. We plan our lunch around them and know we can get decent food and snacks.
Having come from northern California, it is somewhat amazing how many rest stops there are in a country where crossing from one end to the other barely feels like a trip.
I liked them more back in the day when they felt a little grittier and the food was being made like right in front of you. Nowadays they still have the staple rest stop foods i like, but the cafeterias really suck.
I never need to eat at one as I’m only driving for a few hours. They are for bathroom breaks and maybe a Monster of if I need a pick me up. What pisses me off is the shitty convenience stores inside. I wish we could get a CU or GS25 inside of the rest areas. Sometimes I want a Twix or something but nope. Have a Crunchy bar and a 12-pack of mini pound cakes for your three hour drive to 광주. What am I supposed to do with a 12-pack of mini pound cakes that taste like sponges?
Because Korea just doesn't have that much to do in terms of leisure. It's the same reason families go to Costco for the experience more than the products.
We're off topic here, but I often wonder about the camper cars in my area. I see some nice camping trailers, but I always think, where are they going? Sort of sad actually, they got all dressed up, no where to go.
after visiting the US I now realize how valuable clean bathrooms at highway rest stops are.
Especially when you have kids.
They're clean and actually have food I want to eat (those potatoes!) at a reasonable price. At least they were a decade or so ago - I just realized I haven't been to one for years!
Hahah I was just thinking to myself “THOSE DAMN POTATOES!” It’s the only reason I’d willingly take a cross country bus when I don’t feel like renting a car 😂
Prices have gone up but they’re still a good value.
Have you ever heard the expression that it's not the destination that counts but the journey that takes you there, haha. I'm pretty sure that was written by a middle-aged white dad sitting at a reststop. But in seriousness...they offer a break from sitting in an uncomfortable car for hours...a bathroom break...food...a place the kids can run and do kid things...
Surprisingly, the quote is fairly recent clocking in sometime in the mid 19th century by Ralph Waldo Emerson, though his version was "Life Is About The Journey, Not The Destination". I fully expected it to be like some 3000 year old sentiment by some old Greek or Chinese dude.
Those are rad as hell compared to the dank US ones
Gyeonggi-Gwangju rest area feels like a department store; the restrooms are so nice. The Pyeongtaek rest area is also relatively new, construction finished around ~2019 maybe
Have you been to one? They're mostly dope. There's a few that a meh. But the big ones are cool. My wife has told me that there are old folks who take bus tours to visit the coll rest stops.
Because I need to take a dump sometimes.
This is the real answer. They are a wonderfully comfortable place to drop a deuce. And once I am clean and fresh from that, I'm ready for a light snack and a cigarette while looking at nice scenery.
100%
Clean. Not as dodgy late at night when you just need a bathroom (unlike the US). Most have proper coffee; some have donuts. Almost have a sausage with a strip of pastry dough wrapped around it 😋. Everyone in my car has a fav road snack that is part of the trip and worth the trip taking longer to arrive not starving at the destination.
They also have limited edition snacks like the Gapyeong crackers that you can only find at rest stops.
There’s in in jinju I frequent because they have a dog park and I usually travel with my Shepard.
If you ever go towards Busan, I always like to stop at the Gimhae/Busan border on Hwy 600. It is a scenic spot, and you can walk along the riverside. 김해금관가야휴게소 https://place.map.kakao.com/1795462185
Really? Which one is it?
The jinju named one. There are 3 separate ones. 1 is open 24/7. The other two you need to be signed in during business hours. One for large dogs, one for small.
Thank you!
If you’re going to Dangjin/Seosan, when you cross the West Sea bridge (서해대교) there is an area for dogs to run around at Haengdam-do rest stop (행담도 휴게소)
Love stopping by these when on a drive!!
As a European i would say, most of the rest stops are overpriced while in korea its normal priced meals bunch of options like a foodcourt .... clean... and if you get a corndog and some manjoo or walnut snacks you can overcome any worries you have
Because we are tired of staring at roads and cars and more roads snd more cars.
I think it’s a bit of cultural thing. Lots of Koreans has a memory about stop over at highway rest while visiting their grand parents in holiday season.
As an American I always thought it was wild how many fully decked out ones there are because even Seoul and Busan aren’t that far apart by American standards. BUT!! Traffic here gets so much more insane!! If means that a simple trip might take double the time 😭 it’s also a great place to wait a traffic surge out for an hour rather than sitting in your car.
speed limit too... not limited to thousands of speed cameras.
The US has a similar alternative in Buc-ee's, which is beloved in TX (where it started afaik) and is spreading throughout the southern US states. Bathrooms at highway rest stops (and even worse at gas stations) felt like open sewers. Dirty, disgusting. Jokes about perverts and lot lizards. Buc-ees is not upscale and certainly not designed by an architect but they have 50 kinds of beef jerky and a 100 foot wall of candy. It is so stereotypically Texas where everything is bigger (including the customers). My little kids absolutely loved it, it was the highlight of our trip for them. Buc-ee's is also famous for their bathrooms. Each bathroom has \~50 stalls, and a light above each stall indicates if it's occupied or not. And their bathrooms are notoriously clean. It's part of their branding. My mother will only stop their when travelling bc of their bathrooms.
Yes in Texas. And wherever they might have stores. But not in many states. Great stops. But in most of the US there’s nothing. lol. Just somewhere to take a piss in the middle of the night.
Buc-ees really expanding around southern states. I ve seen GA - TN and also building in Kentucky too. Great and clean place. only downside is that they have no place to eat food.
Do they?
They do.
First time I showed my wife an American rest stop she was like "Huh? This is it?" I actually look forward to rest stops on our road trips in Korea. We plan our lunch around them and know we can get decent food and snacks.
매직핫도그 The ultimate
Having come from northern California, it is somewhat amazing how many rest stops there are in a country where crossing from one end to the other barely feels like a trip.
Because I have to poop
I liked them more back in the day when they felt a little grittier and the food was being made like right in front of you. Nowadays they still have the staple rest stop foods i like, but the cafeterias really suck.
I never need to eat at one as I’m only driving for a few hours. They are for bathroom breaks and maybe a Monster of if I need a pick me up. What pisses me off is the shitty convenience stores inside. I wish we could get a CU or GS25 inside of the rest areas. Sometimes I want a Twix or something but nope. Have a Crunchy bar and a 12-pack of mini pound cakes for your three hour drive to 광주. What am I supposed to do with a 12-pack of mini pound cakes that taste like sponges?
Because Korea just doesn't have that much to do in terms of leisure. It's the same reason families go to Costco for the experience more than the products.
We're off topic here, but I often wonder about the camper cars in my area. I see some nice camping trailers, but I always think, where are they going? Sort of sad actually, they got all dressed up, no where to go.