[COVER STORY] 120 meters above Seoul, slackliner stuns crowds

Jaan Roose, a three-time slackline world champion from Estonia, performed 120 meters above downtown Seoul on Thursday. Sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and hosted by Red Bull, it was the first slackline performance held high above central Seoul. Roose said the city setting made the preparation difficult and called the performance a surprise and a miracle.

Roose walked a 160-meter line strung 120 meters above the city with a safety leash and no net below.

Slackline is described as an extreme sport in which athletes walk on a line about 2.5 to 5 centimeters wide and perform tricks such as jumps and spins.

Roose began slacklining at 18 and became the first person to slackline across the Strait of Messina in July 2024.

He later became the first to cross from Asia to Europe on a slackline over the Bosphorus in Istanbul and walked a 100-meter line suspended 224 meters above Dubai in January 2025.

Last month, he set a world record in Bratislava by covering 14.7 kilometers over 12 hours on a 666-meter line about 100 meters above the Danube.

Published Oct 1, 2026 3:45 pm KST

Updated Oct 1, 2026 7:00 pm KST

Estonian world champion Jaan Roose completes 160-meter round trip in city's 1st high-altitude slackline performance

Slackliner Jaan Roose walks a line 120 meters above Jung District, Seoul, Thursday, with the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin at Gwanghwamun Square in the foreground. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

When Jaan Roose, 34, a three-time slackline world champion from Estonia, stepped onto a line 120 meters above downtown Seoul on Thursday, a collective gasp rose from the hundreds watching below.

"Seeing a person up there feels like watching a video. It doesn't seem real," said Sung Na-hyun, 37, an office worker, adding that it was her first time watching a slackline performance.

Sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and hosted by Red Bull, the event was the first slackline performance held high above central Seoul. Slackline is an extreme sport in which athletes walk along a line about 2.5 to 5 centimeters wide stretched between two points, performing tricks such as jumps and spins using the line's sway and rebound.

Roose, who began slacklining at 18, became the first person to slackline across the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from mainland Italy, in July 2024. Two months later, he became the first to cross from Asia to Europe on a slackline, walking 1,074 meters over the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey.

Slackliner Jaan Roose sits on a line 120 meters above Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

He kept breaking new ground in January 2025, walking a 100-meter line suspended 224 meters above Dubai. Last month, he set a world record in Bratislava, Slovakia, by covering 14.7 kilometers over 12 hours, walking back and forth on a 666-meter line about 100 meters above the Danube.

On Thursday, he took his record-setting run to Seoul, walking a 160-meter line strung 120 meters above the city, secured by a safety leash with no net below. Each time Roose sat on the line and waved to onlookers, or performed handstands and one-handed hangs, he drew gasps and cheers from below.

"It's been so dizzying the whole time I've been watching," said Nam Yu-jin, a 28-year-old office worker.

"I'm anxious that he might fall with the wind blowing, but it's fun, too. I was out for a walk after lunch when a coworker told me about it. It feels like something new in my everyday life."

Slackliner Jaan Roose poses after completing a round trip along a line 160 meters long, strung 120 meters above the ground, in Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

It was a new experience for Roose, too.

"This is the first time I do such a performance in this part of the world. This is very unique and it is also difficult in terms of preparation. It is very hard to have such a line in a big city like Seoul ... This is a big surprise for me. It's a miracle," Roose said.

Still, he said he felt tired after the walk, adding that lines in cities are always harder than those in nature.

"While I'm walking the line, I'm focusing on each step ... I am afraid of heights. That I'm walking at height doesn't mean I'm not scared of heights. I am, because it helps to keep me safe," Roose said.

That one-step-at-a-time approach is also what he hopes to pass on to those who watched the performance.

"The message is always, whatever challenge you start, always focus on just the first step, and then on the second one. Do not try to get to the final or do the whole thing right away, because you may fail a lot, and you have to. Along the way, you figure out the best technique to do it."

Slackliner Jaan Roose performs on a line 120 meters above Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

来自爱沙尼亚的三届世界走扁带冠军贾恩·罗斯（Jaan Roose）周四在首尔市中心上空120米处进行了表演。此次表演由首尔市政府赞助，红牛公司承办，是首次在首尔市中心高空举行的走扁带表演。罗斯表示，城市环境增加了准备难度，并称这次表演既是惊喜也是奇迹。

罗斯沿着一条 160 米长的绳子行走，这条绳子架设在城市上方 120 米处，绳子上有安全绳，但下面没有网。

走扁带被描述为一项极限运动，运动员在一条大约 2.5 到 5 厘米宽的线上行走，并表演跳跃和旋转等技巧。

罗斯18岁开始玩走扁带，并于2024年7月成为第一个走扁带横跨墨西拿海峡的人。

后来，他成为第一个在伊斯坦布尔博斯普鲁斯海峡上用扁带从亚洲横跨到欧洲的人，并在 2025 年 1 月走过悬挂在迪拜上空 224 米处的 100 米长的扁带。

上个月，他在布拉迪斯拉发创造了一项世界纪录，在多瑙河上方约 100 米处的 666 米长的绳索上，用 12 小时滑行了 14.7 公里。

发布于2026年10月1日下午3:45（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月1日晚上7:00（韩国标准时间）

爱沙尼亚世界冠军扬·罗斯在城市首次高空走扁带表演中完成了160米往返行程。

周四，在首尔中区，走扁带的Jaan Roose在120米高的扁带上行走，前景是光化门广场上的李舜臣将军雕像。（韩国时报 沈贤哲摄）

周四，当来自爱沙尼亚的 34 岁三届世界走扁带冠军 Jaan Roose 踏上首尔市中心上方 120 米高的扁带时，下方数百名观众发出了一声惊叹。

“看到有人在上面表演，感觉就像在看视频一样，不太真实，”37岁的上班族宋娜贤（音译）说道，并补充说这是她第一次观看走扁带表演。

本次活动由首尔市政府赞助，红牛公司主办​​，是首次在首尔市中心高空举行的走扁带表演。走扁带是一项极限运动，运动员沿着连接两点、宽度约为2.5至5厘米的扁带行走，利用扁带的摆动和回弹力完成跳跃、旋转等技巧动作。

鲁斯18岁开始练习走扁带，2024年7月，他成为第一个走扁带横跨墨西拿海峡（连接西西里岛和意大利大陆）的人。两个月后，他又成为第一个走扁带从亚洲横跨到欧洲的人，在土耳其伊斯坦布尔的博斯普鲁斯海峡上行走了1074米。

周四，走扁带运动员 Jaan Roose 坐在首尔中区上方 120 米高的扁带上。（联合新闻社）

2025年1月，他继续突破极限，走过悬挂在迪拜上空224米处的100米长的绳索。上个月，他在斯洛伐克首都布拉迪斯拉发创造了一项世界纪录，在12小时内走完了14.7公里，在多瑙河上空约100米处的666米长的绳索上来回行走。

周四，他将自己创纪录的挑战带到​​了首尔。他沿着一条160米长的绳索行走，这条绳索架设在城市上空120米处，仅用安全绳固定，下方没有任何防护网。每当罗斯坐在绳索上向围观者挥手，或者表演倒立和单手悬挂时，都会引来下方观众的惊叹和欢呼。

“我看的时候一直觉得头晕目眩，”28岁的上班族南裕珍说道。

“我担心它会被风吹倒，但也挺好玩的。午饭后我出去散步，一个同事跟我说了这件事。感觉就像给我的日常生活增添了点新鲜感。”

周四，在首尔中区，走扁带运动员 Jaan Roose 在完成一次往返于一条长 160 米、离地 120 米的扁带后摆姿势拍照。（韩国时报 朴雄摄）

对罗斯来说，这也是一次全新的体验。

“这是我第一次在这个地区进行这样的演出。这非常独特，准备工作也相当困难。在首尔这样的大城市排练这样的演出非常不容易……这对我来说是个巨大的惊喜，简直是个奇迹。”鲁斯说道。

不过，他表示步行后感到很累，并补充说，城市里的线条总是比自然界的线条更难走。

“我走钢丝的时候，会专注于每一步……我恐高。我在高处行走并不代表我不恐高。我其实很恐高，因为这样能确保我的安全，”鲁斯说道。

他也希望将这种一步一步来的方法传递给观看表演的人们。

“关键在于，无论你开始什么挑战，都要始终专注于第一步，然后再专注于第二步。不要试图一下子就到达终点或完成所有事情，因为你可能会失败很多次，而且你必须经历失败。在这个过程中，你会找到最佳的应对方法。”

周四，走扁带运动员 Jaan Roose 在首尔中区上方 120 米高的扁带上表演。（联合新闻社）