Jayuro as viewed from Odusan Observatory

The Jayu Motorway (also called Jayu-ro, ko, 자유로, lit. Freedom Road) is a major north–south arterial highway in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Its southern terminus is in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, while its northern terminus is at National Route 1's Reunification Bridge leading into the DMZ. North Korea is visible from a section of the highway stretching from Seongdong-ri to Ogeum-ri. Its shape closely parallels the northern bank of the Han River and is heavily fortified with barbed wire and military observatories. It is part of National Route 77. This route connects

( Gayang Bridge), Goyang ( Ilsan) to

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

(

Munsan Munsan is a town of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies on the south bank of the Imjin River, close to the edge of the Demilitarized Zone and near Panmunjom and the Joint Security Area. History Munsan has a heavy military presence beca ...

Panmunjeom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean ...

), with a total length of . The highway is directly connected with the

Gangbyeonbuk-ro The Gangbyeon Expressway ( ko, 강변북로) is an eight-lane highway located in Seoul, South Korea. It is part of National Route 46 and National Route 77. This route connects Seoul to Namyangju, with a total length of . The highway is di ...

at Gayang Bridge.

History

* May 19, 1990 - Construction Begin * August, 1992 -

Haengju Bridge The Haengju Bridge crosses the Han River in South Korea and connects the city of Goyang and the district of Gangseo-gu. The bridge was first completed in 1978, but the bridge was very narrow and could not handle the increased traffic as the neig ...

~ Tongil observatory section(29 km) opens to traffic. * September, 1994 - Tongil observatory~Jayu Bridge(자유의다리) section(17.5 km) opens to traffic.

Compositions

Lanes

* Dangdong IC ~ Jayu IC: 4 * Nakha IC - Dangdong IC: 6 * Nakha IC - Isanpo JC: 8 * Gayang Bridge - Isanpo JC: 10

Length

Speed limits

* 90 km/h

List of facilities

* IC: Interchange, JC: Junction, SA: Service Area, TG:Tollgate

Jayuro Ghost

The highway is also notable for its variant of the

vanishing hitchhiker The vanishing hitchhiker (or variations such as the ghostly hitchhiker, disappearing hitchhiker, phantom hitchhiker) is an urban legend in which people travelling by vehicle, meet with or are accompanied by a hitchhiker who subsequently vanishes ...

called the Jayuro Ghost. The area frequently experiences foggy weather and thus has a high rate of automobile collisions. According to the narrative, a woman can sometimes be seen along the side of the road wearing sunglasses. Upon closer inspection it is revealed that the so-called sunglasses are actually the woman's gouged-out eyes. Another version of the narrative has a driver picking up the ghost, only for the ghost to direct the driver to a cemetery or disappear when the driver reaches the destination. The Dark Side of Seoul Podcast released a video episode about this urban legend and other road-related Korean folklore.

References

{{Reflist 1992 establishments in South Korea Roads in Seoul Roads in Gyeonggi