Mangyang Service Area
Mangyang Service Area (망양휴게소; map) is a rest stop along the coastal National Route 7 (7번 국도; map). It features a four-story building (2 above ground, 2 below) bolted onto the side of a rocky hill overlooking the East Sea (road view).
Let’s peruse the pit stop.
Food
The building provides plenty of culinary options for highway travelers, including a convenience store, coffee shop, and restaurant serving bibimbap, pork cutlet, black noodles, and more.
A window wall that lets patrons slurp noodles and watch waves crashing on the rocks below. Nearby, a dried fish market sells Uljin specialities like dehydrated pollock, seaweed, and squid.
Outside, facing the parking lot, a line of quick snack shops sell roadside staples, including:
Observatory
An observatory with a panoramic view of the East Sea hangs off the back of the Mangyang Service Area’s main building.
Climb to the top floor and find a gangplank walkway jutting 10 meters over the rocky coast. At the end of the walkway, visitors can gaze through mounted binoculars.
- Look left (north) and spot Osan Port (오산항; map) and Deokshin Beach (덕신해변; map).
- Look right (south) and watch National Route 7 disappear into a mountainside tunnel.
- Gaze out to sea. Ulleung Island (울릉도; map) rests 103 kilometers beyond the horizon.
- Glance down and discover hillside stairs descending to Sunrise Pension’s seaside swimming pool.
Sunrise Pension? Where?
Sunrise Pension
Unlike most Korean rest stops, Mangyang Service Area operates a pension on its bottom two floors. Known as Sunrise Pension, it offers both bed and ondol-style rooms with kitchenettes and patios from which guests can view the East Sea sunrise.
Book a room and you’ll also get exclusive access to that seaside pool.
Certification Center
On the south end of Mangyang Service Area’s parking lot, find a small viewing platform under some seaside pine trees. Just in front of it sits the Mangyang Service Area Certification Center (망양휴게소 인증센터; map; road view). Break out your Bike Passport and grab a stamp.
