My Friend Ditched Me the Second We Pulled Into a Korean Highway Rest Stop

Last week was Chuseok, Korea's big harvest holiday. Think Thanksgiving: families who live far apart all get together for a few days. Which also means everybody hits the road at the same time.

I drove down from Seoul to see my family. Normally that's a two or three hour trip. During Chuseok it can easily turn into six or seven. This time was no different, and after a while my back was stiff and my legs were done.

Then you spot a rest stop sign way off in the distance and, for some reason, you're weirdly happy to see it. I pulled in, stretched, used the bathroom, and grabbed a coffee. According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, rest stops across the country sold more than 870,000 Americanos during last year's Chuseok, making it the best-selling item. So I was hardly alone.

I sat down on a bench and the smell drifted over. Something frying, something simmering, coffee mixed in. I wasn't even hungry, but I suddenly wanted to eat something. And that's when I thought of Timmy.

Timmy thought a rest stop was a bathroom

A few years ago, Timmy and I were traveling around Korea. Somewhere along the drive I said, "Let's stop at a rest stop."

He said sure, but I don't think he knew what he was agreeing to. To him, a rest stop probably meant a tiny pull-off next to the highway with a bathroom and a vending machine. Buy a bottle of water, get back in the car.

Korean rest stops (we call them hyugeso) aren't like that. There are bathrooms, sure, but also a convenience store, a cafe, a food court, and snack stands. And a lot of food. Like, a lot.

As we walked toward the building, the smell hit us, and Timmy's face changed right away. This guy loves food more than anyone I know. We'd barely gotten out of the car and he was already heading for the snack stands at top speed.

"Hey, we haven't even started the trip yet."

He didn't hear me. He was too busy looking at the hodugwaja (walnut-shaped pastries with red bean paste inside), then the hot dogs, then everything at the food court, asking "What's that?" and "How do you eat that?" every few steps. I'd walked past all of it a hundred times without noticing.

To me, it's just a rest stop

For me, a rest stop isn't anything special. I've been stopping at them on highway trips since I was a kid. Need the bathroom, stop. Hungry, eat. Need coffee, get coffee. Sleepy, sit down for a bit. That's about it.

Each one sells slightly different things. Hodugwaja, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), roasted whole potatoes, and skewers show up almost everywhere, and depending on which region you're driving through, you'll find local specialties too.

Back on that bench this Chuseok, I caught myself laughing. If he'd been there, he'd already be at the snack stand. Families were moving around everywhere, some people carrying food back to their cars, others just sitting. I finished my coffee and got back on the road. Still a long way to go, but I felt a lot less tired.

And what I still remember best is the sight of Timmy from behind, speed-walking toward the food without hearing a word I said.