Estonian slackline champion Jaan Roose has completed a dramatic high-altitude walk across central Seoul, balancing on a narrow 160-metre line suspended about 120 metres above the ground.
The 34-year-old three-time world champion crossed between the Koreana Hotel and the Dong-A Media Center near Gwanghwamun on Thursday, in what organisers described as South Korea’s first high-altitude urban slackline performance.
Roose performed the stunt with a safety leash attached to the line and, during the crossing, sat on the line, lay back and performed other manoeuvres that drew cheers and gasps from hundreds of spectators below.
The line measured between 160 metres and roughly 116 metres above the ground along its route. Seoul authorities said the rigging equipment met international safety standards and was inspected before the event. The performance was also subject to wind-speed limits.
Roose has built an international reputation through extreme slackline challenges. In 2024, he became the first person to cross the Strait of Messina between mainland Italy and Sicily on a slackline, while last month he set an endurance record by covering 14.7km on a line above the Danube in Bratislava.
The Seoul performance also drew comparisons with jultagi, Korea’s traditional tightrope performance, which Roose encountered during a visit to the country in 2022.
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