Slacklining
120m above Seoul, Jaan Roose takes slacklining to new heights
With Seoul below, the Estonian slackliner combined incredible balance, daring tricks and Korean tightrope tradition.
Estonian slackliner Jaan Roose has completed a jaw-dropping high-altitude challenge in the heart of Seoul, performing a series of tricks on a slackline suspended 120m above the South Korean capital city's streets.
The three-time world champion crossed a 160m long slackline suspended between the Koreana Hotel and Dong-A Media Center in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun district, before turning around and making the return journey.
Inspired by an ancient Korean tradition
Roose spent 30 minutes on the line and pulled off some nail-biting tricks
© Kihun Park/Red Bull Content Pool
High above the busy streets, Roose showcased his remarkable balance and control with a series of advanced manoeuvres - including a Back Lay, Shoulder Stand and Toe Hang - as the lunchtime crowds watched anxiously from below.
Jaan Roose centres himself on a slackline above Seoul
© Kihun Park/Red Bull Content Pool
The project takes inspiration from jultagi, Korea's traditional culture of tightrope-walking, which Roose discovered during a visit to the country in 2022. He said, “Korean jultagi is a tradition with more than a thousand years of history, while slacklining is a modern sport, so I find the meeting of these two worlds fascinating."
Jaan Roose high above Seoul
© Kihun Park / Red Bull Content Pool
The first performance, which you can watch in full below, lasted approximately 30 minutes, with a second show scheduled for 4pm local time on the same day.
Who is Jaan Roose?
Jaan Roose has slacklined some of the world's most iconic locations
© Kihun Park/Red Bull Content Pool
Roose has built a reputation for taking slacklining to some of the world's most iconic locations. Among his most notable achievements are his 2024 crossing of the Strait of Messina, where he walked a slackline stretching more than 3.6km between mainland Italy and Sicily, becoming the first person to cross the strait on a slackline.
Roose also completed a 1,074m crossing of Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait in September 2024, making him the first person to walk a slackline between two continents.