Oct 1, 4:00 AM
Jaan Roose brings his highline act to the heart of Seoul
The Estonian slackliner’s next stunt is a 160-metre crossing above central Seoul, with wind conditions deciding whether the city gets a show or a postponement.
Seoul is set to host one of those spectacles that city planners probably did not put in the brochures. On Thursday, Estonian aerial athlete Jaan Roose will try to cross a 160-metre highline suspended 120 metres above central Seoul, stretched between the Koreana Hotel and the Dong-A Media Center.
Roose is not exactly new to turning urban skylines into sporting equipment. The 34-year-old is a three-time slackline world champion and has built his reputation on high-wire efforts in conspicuous places, where the line between athletic precision and public theatre becomes pleasantly thin. He has previously completed a 185-metre high feat between the Katara towers in Qatar.
His record also includes a more punishing test of nerves. In 2024, Roose became the first person to slackline the Strait of Messina between mainland Italy and Sicily, finishing the 3.6-kilometre traverse even after a fall near the end, when his safety harness caught him. Last month, he spent 12 hours on a line above the Danube in Bratislava and covered 14.7 kilometres.
In Seoul, the performance is expected to draw large crowds near Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun Square. Roose is scheduled to make two attempts, at 1pm and 4pm local time, provided the weather allows it. The rules are blunt enough: if average wind speeds reach 10 metres per second, or gusts hit 15 metres per second, the walk will be postponed. The forecast for Thursday is sunny with light breezes, which at least gives the organisers a fighting chance.
Roose said a visit to South Korea in 2022 inspired the Gwanghwamun walk. That trip introduced him to jultagi, Korea’s traditional tightrope walking, which Unesco added to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.
Jultagi is not simply a matter of keeping one’s balance while everyone else holds their breath. Unlike tightrope walking elsewhere, it mixes acrobatics with comedy: the walker sings, jokes and dances on the rope, while trading banter with a clown on the ground as musicians play. Seoul will offer a more modern version of the same impulse, only with a higher risk assessment and a narrower ribbon.
Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com
