Cooking robots have expanded rapidly across South Korea's expressway rest areas, rising from three locations in 2021 to 103 by 2025. The automation is being used partly to address shortages of workers willing to staff kitchens late at night.
At Nongong Rest Area, five collaborative robots allowed a restaurant that previously closed at 10 p.m. to move to 24-hour service. The machines prepare several menu items, including pork cutlets and stews, during overnight hours.
The deployment matters because late-night food service remains limited across the highway network. Korea Expressway Corporation data cited in reporting showed that only 61 of 189 rest areas were selling meals overnight, leaving a significant service gap for drivers.
Robots do not remove the need for staff, but they can shift which tasks require overnight labor. The longer-term question is whether the model remains reliable and economical enough to expand beyond the current 103 locations.