Country: | KOR |
Type: | National |
Route: | 77 |
Jayu-ro | |
Alternate Name: | Jayu Motorway 자유로 |
Length Km: | 49.967 |
Established: | 1992 |
Direction A: | South |
Terminus A: | Gayang Bridge, Mapo, Seoul |
Junction: | 20px Seoul Ring Expressway Incheon Airport Expressway Suwon-Munsan Expressway National Route 39 National Route 37 |
Direction B: | North |
Terminus B: | Jayu Interchange, Paju, Gyeonggi |
The Jayu Motorway (also called Jayu-ro, Korean: 자유로, lit. Freedom Road) is a major north–south arterial highway in South Korea. Its southern terminus is in Seoul, 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 Seoul (Gayang Bridge), Goyang (Ilsan) to Paju (Munsan, Panmunjeom), with a total length of 49.976km (31.054miles).
The highway is directly connected with the Gangbyeonbuk-ro at Gayang Bridge.
49.976km (31.054miles)
No. | Name | Korean Name | Hanja Name | Connections | Notes | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Connected directly with Gangbyeonbuk-ro(강변북로) | |||||||
6 | 가양대교북단 | 加陽大橋 | Gayang-daero (가양대로) Hwagok-ro(화곡로) | Highway Start Spot | Seoul | ||
5 | 남고양나들목 | 南高陽나들목 | Suwon-Munsan Expressway (Branch Line) | Gyeonggi | |||
1 | Bungno JC (Banghwa Bridge) | 북로분기점 | 北路分岐點 | ||||
IC | Haengju IC | 행주나들목 | 幸州나들목 | Haengju-ro (행주로) | Seoul-bound Only | ||
JC | Haengju JC (Haengju Bridge) | 행주분기점 | 幸州分岐點 | ||||
JC | Jayuro JC (Gimpo Bridge) | 자유로분기점 | 自由路分岐點 | ||||
IC | 장항나들목 | 獐項나들목 | |||||
IC | 킨텍스나들목 | KINTEX나들목 | |||||
JC | Isanpo JC (Ilsan Bridge) | 이산포분기점 | 二山浦分岐點 | ||||
IC | 구산나들목 | 九山나들목 | |||||
IC | 장월나들목 | 長月나들목 | |||||
IC | 문발나들목 | 文發나들목 | Paju | ||||
IC | 성동나들목 | 城洞나들목 | |||||
IC | 낙하나들목 | 洛下나들목 | |||||
IC | 내포나들목 | 內浦나들목 | |||||
IC | 당동나들목 | 堂洞나들목 | |||||
IC | 임진각나들목 | 任津閣나들목 | |||||
IC | 자유나들목 | 自由나들목 |
The highway is also notable for its variant of the vanishing hitchhiker 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.[1]