These days, there are quite a few cases where people set a highway rest stop as their destination. I also searched and visited Lee Young-ja’s rest area restaurant list that appeared in Point of Omniscient Interference.
As the number of people visiting rest areas not only for delicious food but also for beautiful scenery increases, highway rest areas are evolving into hot places to enjoy delicious restaurants and scenery.
In this post, Forbes Korea, together with data analysis company TDI, compiled a ranking of the top 20 rest areas that were most frequently entered as destinations on T Map, Korea’s largest navigation service.
Let’s take a look at the list of hot places at highway rest areas that are visited by the most people.
#1 Hanam Dream Rest Area
The highway rest area that most people visit is Hanam Dream Rest Area (formerly Hanam Meeting Square Rest Area) on the Jungbu Expressway in Hanam, Gyeonggi-do.
The representative menu of Hanam Dream Rest Area is Jangteo Gukbap, and in addition to Jangteo Gukbap, snacks such as kimbap, fried chicken, spicy dogs, and hottang are also famous.
#2 Haengdamdo Rest Area
The second best restaurant at a highway rest area is Haengdamdo Rest Area on the West Coast Expressway in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province.
Haengdamdo Rest Area is the largest rest area on the West Coast Expressway, and is also the only rest area in Korea located on an island.
There are a variety of delicious restaurants at the Haengdamdo Rest Area, and famous ones include Twisted Twist, Somimi Sweet Red Bean Bread, and Sotteok Sotteok.
#3 Sihwanarae Rest Area
Third place is Sihwanarae Rest Area in Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do. Unlike other rest areas, it is not a rest area on the highway, but is located in the middle of the Sihwa seawall leading to Daebudo Island.
Sihwanarae Rest Area, a must-visit course on Daebudo Island in Ansan and a driving course near Seoul, is famous for the sunset seen from the moon observatory.
There is a food court and snacks such as homemade twists.
#4 Siheung Sky Rest Area
4th place is Siheung Sky Rest Area located on the 1st Ring Expressway in the Siheung metropolitan area, Gyeonggi-do. Siheung Sky Rest Area, the first rest area built above a highway in the country, is an integrated rest area that can be used by passengers in both directions as it is installed across the upper and lower lines of the highway.
It is also a unique place where you can sit in the restaurant area and watch cars driving by through the window.
The restaurant area on the 3rd floor of Siheung Sky Rest Area, a complex rest area, offers a variety of food such as pork, rice soup, and ramen.
5th Gapyeong Rest Area Chuncheon direction
The 5th best restaurant at a highway rest area is Gapyeong Rest Area on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do, toward Chuncheon.
Gapyeong Rest Area is famous for Gapyeong Pine Nut Beef Soup, Hudu Pine Nut Snacks, and Gapyeong Delicious Sandwich made with pine nuts, a specialty of the Gapyeong region. I also eat a lot of pine nut noodles recommended by Youngja Lee.
#6 Seoul Meeting Plaza Rest Area Busan direction
6th place is the Busan direction of Seoul Meeting Plaza in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Seoul Meeting Plaza, the first rest stop on the Busan direction of the Gyeongbu Expressway, is a place where gas prices are low, so nearby residents often visit to refuel.
Maljukgeori Beef Gukbap, which became famous through Lee Young-ja’s mukbang, is considered a must-try food here.
For your reference, the restaurants and menus at highway rest areas recommended by Lee Young-ja are as follows.
Rest area restaurant menu
Seoul Meeting Plaza Rest Area
(Gyeongbu Expressway) Maljukgeori Beef Soup
Gapyeong Rest Area
(Seoul Yangyang Expressway) Pine Nut Noodles
Majang Premium Rest Area
(Jungbu Expressway) Icheon Rice Set Meal
Boseong Green Tea Rest Area
(Namhae Expressway) Cockle Bibimbap
Hoengseong Rest Area
(Yeongdong Expressway) Hoengseong Korean Beef Rice Cake Deodeok Steak
Gangneung Rest Area
(Yeongdong Expressway) Chodang tofu and pollack hangover soup,
Potatoes
Seosan Rest Area
(West Coast Expressway) Salted fish oysters and white rice
Anseong Rest Area
(Gyeongbu Expressway) Sotteok Sotteok
(Grilled Sausage Rice Cake Skewers)
#7 Hangyeryeong Rest Area
Hangyeryeong Rest Area in Yangyang, Gangwon-do is ranked 7th. Hangyeryeong Rest Area is located at 920m of Hangyeryeong, a 1,004m high hill, and boasts a beautiful view.
Hangyeryeong Rest Area has a simpler restaurant and auxiliary facilities compared to other rest areas, but it is a perfect place to view the autumn leaves of Seorak Mountain in the fall and is a popular attraction visited by many people during the fall foliage season.
You can enjoy snacks such as hotteok, waffles, and potato rice cakes, and they also sell local foods such as wild vegetable soup and buckwheat pancakes.
8th place Deokpyeong Natural Rest Area Incheon direction
8th place is Deokpyeong Natural Rest Area, located on the Yeongdong Expressway in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, toward Incheon.
Deokpyeong Natural Rest Area has a variety of attractions that make it worthy of being a theme park. In particular, you can enjoy a night light festival in the outdoor park, and there is also Korea’s first dog theme park, so many people visit for sightseeing purposes.
Deokpyeong Natural Rest Area, famous for its Deokpyeong beef haejangguk (beef soup), is visited by so many people that it is also the place with the highest annual sales among rest areas across the country.
#9 Jukjeon Rest Area Seoul direction
9th place is the Gyeongbu Expressway Jukjeon Rest Area toward Seoul. Jukjeon Rest Area in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do is the last rest area in the direction of Seoul, so there is a lot of traffic.
We operate a self-service restaurant where you can choose from over 20 different dishes.
#10 Cheonbaekgoji Rest Area
Number 10 is Cheonbaekgoji Rest Area located in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. If you drive along the 1100 Road connecting Jeju Island and Seogwipo, you will find the Cheonbaekgoji Rest Area at 1,100m above sea level.
You can see the scenery of Hallasan Mountain without climbing a mountain, and it is also a famous spot where you can enjoy snowflakes in winter.
11th place Deokpyeong Natural Rest Area Gangneung direction
#12 Seongsamjae Rest Area
#13 Geumgang Rest Area
14th Gapyeong Rest Area Seoul direction
#15 Paju Book City Rest Area
16th Naerincheon Rest Area Yangyang direction
17th place Jijidae Rest Area
18th Hwaseong Rest Area Seoul direction
19th Anseong Rest Area Seoul direction
#20 Yangpyeong Meeting Square