HE WAS nearing the 70th floor of Lotte World Tower in Seoul, more than halfway up the world’s sixth-tallest building. Wearing only shorts, shoes and a para chute on his back, George King was determined to climb right to the very top.
The Korean skyscraper is comparable in shape to The Shard, the 310-metre London landmark that turned George’s passion into a precarious living when he made headline news after climbing it in 2019. But at 555 metres, the Lotte World Tower, which was finished in 2016, would be a much bigger test.
The British daredevil free climber spent six months planning his biggest stunt yet.
A key point in this plan was to make a clean getaway. After reaching the building’s summit, 123 floors above the streets of Seoul, he would jump, taking less than a minute to glide back down, as far from the tower as his canopy would take him.
He would then don a disguise (or at least a cap and some actual clothes) and jump on a plane back to London before anyone could identify him.
George (24) was sweating profusely as he climbed the tower’s west face early one Monday morning in June. Following his every move was a drone camera, deployed by his sponsor, a UK vape brand that was paying him to attempt the dangerous climb.
He was making good progress, until, not far above the halfway point, he spotted two anxious faces a few floors above him and to his right.
A man and woman wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests were gripping the sides of a maintenance cradle as it and its crane emerged from a large hatch in the building.
Nobody had previously attempted to intercept George during a climb, for fear of causing him to fall.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 5 October 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 5 October 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
MR COOL
Rocker Lenny Kravitz has just turned 60-and he's as much of a sex symbol as ever
LAST RALLY FOR RAFA
Nadal's early exit from RolandGarros calls into question his Grand Slam future. We look back at his smash-hit career
BEYOND THE MOUSTACHE
Tom Selleckon Magnum, peta Oe handsome for Hollywood and why he wishes people would realise theres mor to him than his famous facial hair
HOPE FOR DEMENTIA
More than 55 million people worldwide live with dementia and it's estimated this number will double every 20 years. But researchers believe there's light at the end of the tunnel
HE'S GOT THE X-FACTOR!
Eric's record-breaking collection of X-Men memorabilia is worth a small fortune
MADE FROM SCRATCH
Every morsel of food Nara feeds her family is homemade - but not everyone is impressed
INNOCENT'S GOT TALENT
South African tenor wins hearts in London with his impressive opera skills
'NOBODY LISTENED'
These sisters say they were sexually abused 50 years ago by family friends - and they want their day in court
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
The votes have been cast, counted and announced, but is South Africa ready for a new government? The experts think so
A LOW PROFILE
Cancer-stricken Kate isn't rushing her return to public life but behind the scenes she's keeping busy with work and family life