[Update 30 Dec] Staying true to what was revealed in early previews, official images have now surfaced for the Nike Korea Air Jordan 1 “SNKRS DAY”. While the pair is expected to arrive on 8th August 2023 via Nike SNKRS, stay tuned here for any more future updates to the release.

[Update 24 Nov] On-feet photos have arrived almost a year ahead of its tentative release date. As usual, courtesy of @yankeekicks. These images offer a more detailed and angular looks of the leather, suede, and nubuck textile construction, as well as the “SNKRS Day” branding in Hangul lettering that was previously unseen in the first wave of pictures.

Every 8th August in the last five years, Nike has brought us SNKRS Day, a celebration of their famous/infamous platform. Aside from the special content and activities, much of the fanfare is in large part due to the special price drops and limited-edition releases. Worldwide, the latter has introduced some of the biggest ones of the year, but none quite the city-exclusive silhouettes. And none would be quite like Korea’s offering next year.

Nike Korea takes on the Air Jordan 1 Low. It seems too formulaic and predictable to use the country’s colors when it comes to such collaborations, and they’re crafty enough not to. National pride doesn’t always scream as they do in sporting events, most of the time its subtle and inconspicuous. The same with this iteration of the AJ 1. Expressed through various detailings instead, the pair introduces Korean pride with the embroidery of the mudpie, the nation’s national bird, as well as the imprint of Nike in Korean on the interior.

The colors stay muted with a tonal palette of brown, black, and white. The pair doesn’t diverge too much from its blueprint, but it does incorporate some contemporary stylings like the exposed foam on the tongue and the varied mix of materials. Smooth leather make up the base layer in brown on the quarter and off-white on the toe box. Washed black establishes its presence through the tumbled leather overlays, with white suede along the collar.

Considering it’s such an early look, other information on the pair is scant but presumably, the commemorative pair will have an 8 August 2023 release date. More should be revealed in the months to come.

From now till then, there are plenty of other releases worth looking out for. Consider the Air Jordan “Black Taxi”.