Estonian aerial athlete and three-time slackline world champion Jaan Roose is scheduled to perform a high-altitude walk in the heart of Seoul this Thursday. The 34-year-old will navigate a narrow polyester ribbon stretched 160 metres long and suspended 120 metres above the ground. The route spans the space between the Koreana hotel and the Dong-A Media Center, situated near the city's iconic Gyeongbokgung palace and Gwanghwamun square.
Roose has established a reputation for performing in challenging urban environments, including a 185-metre high crossing between Qatar’s Katara towers. In 2024, he achieved a historic 3.6km traversal across the strait of Messina between mainland Italy and Sicily, a feat he completed despite a fall near the end that was halted by his safety harness. More recently, he spent 12 hours covering 14.7km on a line suspended above the Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Organizers expect large crowds to gather to witness the Seoul event, which is planned for two sessions at 1pm and 4pm local time, provided weather conditions remain favorable. The walk will be subject to postponement if average wind speeds reach 10m/s or if gusts hit 15m/s. Current forecasts indicate sunny skies with light breezes.
The inspiration for this specific location dates back to a 2022 visit to South Korea, during which Roose encountered jultagi, the country’s traditional tightrope walking performance. Jultagi, which was added to the Unesco list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011, is distinct from many other forms of tightrope walking as it combines acrobatics with comedy. Practitioners traditionally perform on the rope while singing, joking, and dancing, often engaging in banter with a ground-based clown accompanied by live music.
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.
