[WHY] Why do travelers in Korea love highway rest stops?

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Published: 27 Apr. 2024, 07:00

[WHY] Why do travelers in Korea love highway rest stops?

An image showing interior of the Ansan Service Area, which opened in 2022 on Yeongdong Expressway connecting Incheon and Gangneung, Gangwon [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

Highway rest stops in Korea are state of the art.

Robots cook ramyeon, drones swoop in to drop off hot dogs, and pet-friendly parks have become the new charm along highways, attracting millions of road-trippers a year.

The design and amenities of roadside service plazas dotting the countryside are becoming grander and more sophisticated than ever. They are a far cry from U.S. interstate rest stops, which are often associated with an eerie and even ominous ambience.

Yet the modern and innovative scenes at Korean service plazas were not made overnight.

Back in the 1990s, rest stops in the country that provided the bare minimum were considered “undesirable places” among motorists and bus travelers.

A rusted and poorly managed pit toilet (left) at Korean service plaza in 2003. The door is broken and cracked. [KIM HYUN-JU]

Dirty pit toilets — requiring people to relieve themselves in a squatting position — and notoriously aggressive vendors harassing visitors were never delightful elements of road trips. Overcrowded dining halls where people had to stand with their trays added to the misery.

So how could highway rest stops shed their stinky and grim reputations and transform into trendy places?

Redefining the concept of a service plaza

In Korea, the idea of a rest stop has evolved into a “multipurpose” venue with a variety of novel amenities.

Concessionaires are adding nontraditional features to service plazas to attract customers characterized by ever-diverse expectations and peculiar needs in order to entice them to spend money.

A dog is trained by a professional at a dog park inside the Dukpyeong Eco-Service Area in Gyeonggi. The service plaza operator, Naturebridge, opened the facility in 2013 to attract travelers with pets. [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

According to a study conducted by ChungAng University’s Big Data Research Lab (2018), “service quality” and “a specific theme of the rest stops” are the most decisive sales-driving factors.

Contemporary service plazas are striving to build their own distinctive character through recreational spaces.

NATURE BRIDGE, concessionaire of the Deokpyeong Eco-Service Area and a subsidiary of retail giant Kolon, decorated the empty lot behind the rest stop building with thousands of sparkling and illuminating LED light bulbs.

An official from the marketing team of the rest stop surnamed Kim said that “ticket sales for the light display account for 5 to 10 percent of the total yearly sales at the service plaza."

LED light bulbs installed on trees brighten the nightscape of a spacec behind the Deokpyeong Eco-Service Area. The decorated area is dubbed the ″Starlight Garden Ooozooo.″ [OOOZOOO]

Prof. Jeon Ki-heung from Jeonju University concluded in his research that aesthetic factors at service plazas matter the most as the facilities serve multiple functions, from refreshment and retail to cultural entertainment purposes nowadays. He said polished and eye-catching amenities help enthrall visitors.

A total of 16 service plazas have dog parks, which are introduced based on a mutual agreement between concessionaires and the state-owned Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC). With more than five million households raising domestic pets, animals have become welcomed guests at roadside service areas.

The KEC stands at the forefront of introducing cutting-edge technology.

At the Munmak Service Area in Gangwon, three robots serve 12 different dishes, ranging from udon to galbitang, or beef soup. Since the cooking time for each order takes less than five minutes, they can serve 200 meals in an hour.

A robot makes hot meals at the Munmak Service Area in Gangwon on Feb. 7. The state-owned Korea Expressway Corporation introduced its first cooking robots at a highway service plaza. [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

The KEC’s North Gyeongsang branch has been piloting a drone delivery service since last November. Drones drop off hot dogs and donuts to campers who place orders through a QR code posted at nearby camping grounds.

Its North Chungcheong branch opened spaces offering virtual reality and drone technology experiences at the Eumseong and Ochang rest stops.

Sci-fi cinematic exteriors

The interiors of service plazas are not the only subject of innovation. Captivating appearances make travelers intrigued and motivate them to explore the venue.

Thus, the architecture of rest stops is incorporating experimental structures with bold exteriors.

Drivers and truckers may find service areas floating high above their vehicles.

A rendered image of the Choein Service Area provided by Haema Architects [HAEMA ARCHITECTS]

Three rest stops — the Siheung Haneul Expressway Rest Area in Gyeonggi, the Naerincheon Rest Area in Gangwon and the under-construction Cheoin Service Area in Gyeonggi — are all structurally elevated.

A total of 19.9 billion won ($14.4 million) will be spent on the construction of the Cheoin Service Area, which will feature ribbon-shaped buildings that cross each other.

Haema Architects, the architect and designer of both Naerincheon and Choein Service Areas, is prioritizing “regional characteristics” and “harmonization with the natural landscape.”

“The futuristic design of the Choein Service Area is to portray an image of Sejong and Pocheon — two cities which are [end points of a newly built highway and] currently undergoing development,” Haema Architects told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

An observatory space inside the Naerincheon Service Area facing a mountain ridge allows visitors to “enjoy and blend into the natural scenery.”

Inside the Naerincheon Service Area in Gangwon [JOONGANG PHOTO]

The firm describes the service area as a “must-visit destination” that offers “unclichéd experiences and memories through a unique structure and design.”

The architect added that while the interior can be modified depending on the operator’s preferences, it strives to embody the originally proposed design in the construction process.

State-led development

Such revolutionary development did not happen overnight.

Decadeslong effort carefully orchestrated by the centralized national road authority helped Korean service plazas get equipped with modern infrastructure.

The KEC oversees the management of 207 rest stops nationwide even when operational rights are in the hands of private concessionaires.

A restroom at the Manghyang rest area in South Chungcheong [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

In 1999, the authority started hanging up the profile pictures of custodial staff to ensure accountability for restroom cleanliness. At that time, sittable modern-day flush toilets began to appear.

Almost two decades later, the state corporation undertook a full-scale renovation by naming 2016 “a year for innovating highway restroom culture.” It defined the cleanliness of toilet facilities as a “representation of the country’s citizenry.”

Not only did the authority replace the old pit toilets with bidet toilets, but it also introduced digital occupancy indicators using internet-of-things technology.

The next priority was a dining option.

Ginseng galbitang, or beef bone soup, offered at the Insam Land Service Area in South Chungcheong [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

The KEC knew that a plethora of snacks and hot meals emanating savory smells are irresistible to exhausted drivers or hyped travelers. It is particularly alluring to those feeling refreshed after a satisfying bathroom break.

By the early 2000s, the state authority started diversifying its meal selection and elevating the quality.

The KEC held an annual nationwide competition from 2002 to 2013 to rank the best dishes from every highway plaza. Of over 170 entrants each year, awards were bestowed on six dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients in the categories of a "special meal," "jjigae (stew)," "rice bowl," "bibimbap," "tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet)" and "gukbap (rice soup)."

A map produced by the Korea Expressway Corporation shows representative delicacies from key service plazas along highways. It was produced in July of last year. [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

Today’s KEC-produced map, which lists each service plaza’s signature delicacies, helps those on the road choose where to have their pit-stop meals. Travelers uphold the map as a roadside bible.

Private capital inflow

Privatization was another game changer in upgrading the culinary experience, attracting food and retail behemoths.

The switch in 1995 put the private sector and the KEC in the same boat. Under the scheme, private enterprises hold operational rights and share their revenue with the state agency, which maintains property rights. The variable property rental fee is adjusted proportionally to revenue.

The dining hall inside the Hangdam Island Service Area operated by CJ Freshway [CJ NEWSROOM]

Of the country’s 207 service plazas, 184 are leased to private enterprises, according to data released in August of last year. The remaining 23 are owned by private developers but are set to be returned to the state once contracts expire. Upon the return, the service areas will be leased to private operators through bidding.

A Korean fresh food company, Pulmuone, operates 26 service plazas nationwide and CJ Freshway, a food distribution and catering affiliate of CJ Group, runs four. Korean bakery giant SPC Group, behind Paris Baguette, currently operates nine service plazas. Retail and construction firm Daebo Group manages over 30 rest stops.

Highway service plazas — a channel for selling a variety of snacks and hot meals that thousands of potential customers visit every day — are a perfect fit for such corporations as they can raise brand awareness by hawking their food and drink lines.

The firms, whose fundamental business is food production, have relatively low barriers to entry as they can self-source the products.

A bakery concession stand at the Gapyeong Service Area in Gyeonggi. Korean bakery conglomerate SPC Group, operates the facilities. [SPC GROUP]

“Being a highway service plaza concessionaire is a corporate strategy to boost brand value and earn credibility from consumers by targeting a large number of travelers,” an SPC official surnamed Hwang told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Last year, Lotte GRS — a subsidiary of the Lotte conglomerate that owns the fast-food chain Lotteria and Krispy Kreme in Korea — acquired the operational rights of the Hanam Dream Service Area, which is slated to open by 2027.

Lotte GRS explained that its entry into the industry is an “extension of the current business portfolio utilizing existing resources.”

“The huge volume of traffic crossing the site of the Hanam Dream Service Area made the company see the business as profitable,” Oh Taek-yong, a Lotte GRS official, said.

While privately owned concessionaires strive to generate sales on their end, the government has a quality assurance mechanism. KEC approval should precede the addition of new features to a venue by concessionaires.

“Although marketing falls on the private sector, the government as the owner of the venue functions as a watchdog to ensure service quality,” said Bae Jong-yeup, former head of the service facilities division at the KEC and current vice president of Kidari Food, the operator of nine service plazas nationwide.

In the bidding process, concessionaires with low public ratings are called to return their business rights and the state authority incentivizes operators with outstanding reviews when renewing contracts.

Bae said concessionaires that do not keep up with consumers’ needs or trends can have their “operational rights forfeited.”

An image of "Gapyeong sand," a treat only available at the SPC Group-run Gapyeong Service Area [SPC GROUP]

Thus, a differentiation strategy is necessary to make them stand out and survive in the industry.

An exclusive dessert by SPC Group only available at its Gapyeong Service Area, dubbed “Gapyeong sand," has proven to be an “enticement,” attracting culinary pilgrims whose destination is nowhere but the service plaza with the sole intention of trying out the "press butter sand" baked treat.

Too experimental

Sometimes, however, the country and concessionaires’ creativity proves to be too much.

A toilet user is seen through transparent glass installed on the ceiling of the restroom at the Sudong Service Area in Gyeonggi. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

A windowed toilet in the Sudong Rest Area shocked travelers. The restroom had transparent glass on the ceiling, which was a part of an outdoor walking path. Thus, walkers on the path could see people underneath using the facilities.

The KEC, after recognizing the privacy violation caused by interior design, attached opaque tape to the window.

In 2017, a year before the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the nearby rest stop was revamped into a Winter Olympics-themed space. However, stickers on the floor of toilet cubicles rather discombobulated visitors.

A skiing-themed toilet stall at the Pyeongchang rest stop in 2017 [JOONGANG PHOTO]

The Naerincheon Rest Area — which cost over 20 billion won to construct — appeared to fail to gain traction. An overlapping entryway to the plaza and Inje Interchange puzzled drivers. The inefficient structure, which made visitors walk up to the dining hall on the fourth floor, was neither practical nor desirable.

Transportation critics commented that the “dysfunctional” rest area results from focusing “excessively on being better looking” rather than on “providing fundamental features.”

Seeing a deficit of 17.6 billion won over five years, the Naerincheon stop's original operator, Sono International, a domestic hotel and resort firm, opted out of the rest stop management business in 2022.

The aforementioned mishaps occurred because the developers and operators missed the essence of the service plazas, which is to alleviate fatigue caused by tiring hours of driving.

A 67-year-old bus driver, Bae Jeong-su, told the Korea JoongAng Daily that he has “barely noticed or felt advancement” over the last six years. When asked if such an impression only applies to the Jukjeon Service Area — where the reporter met him — he answered, “Nationwide.”

Inside the Siheung Haneul Expressway Rest Area in Gyeonggi. Its operations began in 2017. The three-story building contains fashion brands where people can buy apparel. [SHIN IN-SEOP]

Nevertheless, the country is likely to continuously expend effort and resources to better serve millions of travelers. Last October, the chief of the KEC promised to continue innovation at service plazas.

Another 43-year-old, Chang, recognized "improvements" in the amenities at the Jukjeon stop, noting that the venue is now "much cleaner" compared to his previous visit several years ago. His last comment shed light on how small details could create delightful memories.

"This time, the scent in toilet was pleasantly impressive."

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]