Sneakerheads and stars flocked to Akron, OH, this week for an exclusive preview of some of the year’s hottest kicks—the limited-edition Air Jordan 3 Seoul 2.0. To hype the drop, Nike enlisted Korean-American designer/entrepreneur Thomas Kim to curate a buzzworthy event the night before the official drop on May 17.
Kim, a lifelong sneakerhead and Akron native, is the founder of trendy sneaker and apparel boutique Kicks Lounge. To celebrate the Nike release, he transformed a warehouse into Seoul, Soul, Sole—a combination party and interactive installation where attendees could immerse themselves in Korean aesthetics and sneaker storytelling, view gallery-worthy exhibits including a six-foot sculpture of the Seoul 2.0, and enter a raffle for a chance to snag a pair AJ3 Seoul 2.0s before the broader release.
On the celeb-studded guest list were NFL players Jerome Baker of the Cleveland Browns, Justin Layne of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Mohamed Sanu of the Atlanta Falcons, as well as Disney/ABC actress and recording artist Briannagh D, and Robert Fomby of YouTube and college basketball fame.
“This wasn’t just a sneaker drop—it’s a movement,” Kim said in a statement. “Seoul, Soul, Sole bridges my Korean roots with the Akron community. It’s about honoring legacy, embracing culture, and showing how far style can travel when it’s built on something real.”
The Seoul 2.0 is a tribute to a tribute. The new sneaker re-imagines the AJ3 Retro Seoul, the first Korea-themed Jordan shoe. The original Seoul was introduced in 2018 to mark the 30th anniversary of the original Air Jordan 3 and the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The 2025 version incorporates original color and design details like the now-iconic elephant print and celebrates Korean culture with a South Korean flag embroidered on the tongue and the Korean symbol for “dream” on the inner tongue.
