Korean Rest Stops

Last weekend, my family went to the province to visit my parents-in-law. They live in Jecheon, a city in Chungcheongbuk-do or North Chungcheong province, which is about 2 hours and a half from Seoul depending on the traffic. We had a really nice trip last Saturday morning since the traffic was light most of the time.
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Awful shot taken last Sunday at Icheon Rest Stop
What I love about road tripping in South Korea are the convenient rest stops called “hyu-ge-so” (Hangeul: 휴게소) that are in all the expressways. All of them have restrooms with both the traditional and modern toilets, convenience stores, gas, restaurants, food kiosks and vending machines.
Our favorite rest stop to Jecheon is the Yeoju Hyugeso while on the way back to Seoul, we often use the Icheon Hyugeso. The Yeoju Hyugeso offers more than the basic facilities. It is one of the few rest stops that has hot water in the restrooms. They also have nice faucets and hand dryers. They have a nursing room where mommies could nurse or feed their babies. Aside from the convenience store, they also have a pharmacy and a shop that sells the city’s local products. Both rest stops have a baseball batting cage and a playground. Icheon has a small park. My son never fail to play with the rabbits whenever we stop by. He enjoys feeding them.
These rest stops are really convenient but they are usually crowded with sunvisor wearing ajummas during the summer vacation season 🙂