A Time-
honored Taste

Five Rest Area Favorites to Try When You¡¯re on the Road

1

The Pinnacle of Chewiness

Koreans love squid, especially its chewy texture. Squid can be enjoyed in a variety of ways such as boiled or raw, but there¡¯s nothing like maekbanseok ojingeo-gui sold at a highway rest area.

The squid is grilled on elvan stone to preserve the chewiness, juiciness and aroma. Grilling squid over a direct fire can burn the outside, leaving the inside undercooked, making it tough and tasteless. On the other hand, elvan stone can be used to properly roast the inside because the stone maintains a constant temperature and the fire does not come in direct contact with the squid. Maekbanseok ojingeo-gui comes in a paper bag and is served with gochujang (red chili pepper paste).

If you go to Mangyang Rest Area, you can eat maekbanseok ojingeo-gui caught fresh from the East Sea. The rest area also has an observatory that overlooks the sea, which makes it an exciting experience for all five senses.

2

Rice Cake Meets Sausage

Sotteok-sotteok, a snack in which Vienna sausages and rice cakes are alternately sandwiched on a skewer, has a shorter history than other highway rest area snacks. First sold in 2010, sales surged after a comedian ate sotteok-sotteok on TV in 2018. The snack quickly became the new powerhouse highway rest area snack. You can add as much sauce as you want to the skewer (such as ketchup, mustard, or chili) as well as toppings like nuts. The point is to eat Vienna sausage and the rice cake together.

Sotteok-sotteok has become a leading highway rest area snack that can be found at any rest area, but the Anseong Rest Area is known as the original seller of the dish.

3

So Much Variety

The hatba, a snack in which fish cakes are skewered and fried in oil, is undeniably the representative snack of the highway rest area. You can find hatbas at any highway rest area piled up high on the steamers. They come in a variety of flavors such as sesame leaves, red pepper, and cheese. They also come served in a variety of ways, including wrapped around sausage or rice cakes. You can often find people lining up in front of the counter, contemplating which hatbas to buy.

The Sintanjin Rest Area sells such a wide variety of hatbas that it¡¯s called the ¡°hatba department store.¡± The deep savory flavor of the seafood hatba, made from a combination of ground seafood, is the most popular one.

4

Delectable Taste and Texture

Goguma sticks are sold at most highway rest areas. They are made from shredded sweet potatoes and fried without batter. The crunchy texture and sweet taste of the sweet potato make this snack for to eat, rather than something to fill you up.

Don¡¯t be deceived by the snack¡¯s visual similarity to french fries, though. Goguma sticks resemble french fries, so you may think that the sticks will be soft, but they¡¯re actually incredibly crunchy.

5

A Taste That Never Falls to Delight

Rest area potatoes are roasted on an iron plate with butter and sprinkled with parsley and sugar. The taste may be predictable, but it is something that never fails to delight. Is there any doubt that the sweet and salty taste of roasted potatoes with butter makes them the most popular highway rest area snack?

Fluffy potatoes are quite filling, so they¡¯re the best snack to fill an empty stomach after a long trip. Although you can find tonggamja-gui at any rest area, the ones at Gangneung Rest Area are especially tasty because they are made from baby potatoes from Gangwon-do Province.