Daredevil Jaan Roose prepares to walk slackline high above central Seoul

Estonian aerial athlete Jaan Roose will attempt to cross a 160-metre long highline suspended 120 metres above central Seoul on Thursday.

Roose, a three-time slackline world champion, will step out on to a narrow polyester ribbon between the Koreana hotel and the Dong-A Media Center, near the capital city’s famous Gwanghwamun palace and square.

The 34-year-old has made a name for himself slacklining dramatic urban environments, such as his 185-metre high feat between Qatar’s Iconic Towers.

In 2024, he became the first person to slackline the strait of Messina between mainland Italy and Sicily, completing the 3.6km traverse despite a fall near the end, caught by his safety harness. Earlier this month, he covered 14.7km over 12 hours on a line above the Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Large crowds in Seoul are expected to watch Roose walk the slackline – twice, at 1pm and 4pm local time – if the weather allows. The walk will be postponed if average wind speeds reach 10m/s or gusts hit 15m/s. Today’s forecast is sunny with light breezes.

Roose said a visit in 2022 to South Korea inspired his Gwanghwamun walk.

On that trip, Roose encountered jultagi, Korea’s traditional tightrope walking, which Unesco added to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.

Unlike tightrope walking elsewhere, jultagi is as much comedy as acrobatics. The walker sings, jokes and dances on the rope, trading banter with a clown on the ground as musicians play.