Jayuro as viewed from Odusan Observatory

The Jayu Motorway (also called Jayu-ro, , 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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Its southern terminus is in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, 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 Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

(

Ilsan Ilsan New Town () refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong District and Ilsanseo District of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in o ...

) to

Paju Paju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, 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 Encyclopedi ...

(

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 becau ...

Panmunjeom Panmunjom (also spelled Panmunjeom) was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. It was located in what is now Paju, Gye ...

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

Gangbyeonbuk-ro The Gangbyeon Expressway () 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 directly connected ...

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 Gangseo District, Seoul. The bridge was first completed in 1978, but the bridge was very narrow and could not handle the increased traffic as the ...

Tongil observatory Korean reunification is the hypothetical unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification of the peninsula while still maintaining two opposing regimes was started by the Ju ...

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.