1988 Summer Olympics Explained

Host City:	Seoul, South Korea
Motto:	Harmony and Progress
Nations:	160
Athletes:	8,453 (6,250 men, 2,203 women)
Events:	237 in 23 sports (31 disciplines)
Opening:	17 September 1988
Closing:	2 October 1988
Opened By:	President Roh Tae-woo^[1]
Cauldron:	Sohn Mi-chung Chung Sun-man Kim Won-tak^[2]
Stadium:	Seoul Olympic Stadium
Summer Prev:	Los Angeles 1984
Summer Next:	Barcelona 1992
Winter Prev:	Calgary 1988
Winter Next:	Albertville 1992

Hangul:	서울 하계 올림픽
Rr:	Seoul Hagye Ollimpik
Mr:	Sŏul Hagye Ollimp'ik
Koreanipa:	pronounced as /ko/

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and officially branded as Seoul 1988, were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes (6,197 men and 2,194 women). 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics were the second summer Olympic Games held in Asia, after Tokyo 1964, and the first held in South Korea.^[3] As the host country, South Korea ranked fourth overall, winning 12 gold medals and 33 medals in the competition. 11,331 media (4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters) showed the Games all over the world. These were the last Olympic Games of the Cold War, as well as for the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games in 1992. The Soviet Union dominated the medal count, winning 55 gold and 132 total medals. The results that got closest to that medal haul in the years since are China's and the United States's 48 gold medals in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and the United States's 126 total medals in 2024.

Compared to the 1980 Summer Olympics (Moscow) and the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles), which were divided into two camps by ideology, the 1988 Seoul Olympics was a competition in which the boycotts virtually disappeared, although they were not completely over. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Seoul Olympics, as did five socialist countries including Cuba, an ally of North Korea. Albania, Ethiopia, and Seychelles did not respond to the invitation sent by the IOC.^[4] Nicaragua did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations,^[5] while the expected participation of Madagascar was withdrawn for financial reasons.^[6] Nonetheless, the much larger boycotts seen in the three previous editions were avoided, resulting in the largest number of participating nations during the Cold War era.

For South Korea, the 1988 Olympics was a symbolic event that elevated its international image while also contributing to national pride.^[7] Only thirty-five years after the Korean War which devastated the nation, and during a decade of social unrest in South Korea, the Olympics was successfully held and became the culmination of what was deemed the "Miracle on the Han River".^{[8] [9]}

Host city selection

Seoul was chosen to host the Summer Games through a vote held on 30 September 1981, finishing ahead of Nagoya, Japan.^[10] The awarding to Seoul was internationally considered to be surprising, with Nagoya having been considered a favourite.^[3] Below was the vote count that occurred at the 84th IOC Session and 11th Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, West Germany.^[11]

1988 Summer Olympics bidding result^[12]

City	Country (NOC)	Round 1
Seoul		52
		27

Seoul had previously hosted many international events, but the most noteworthy ones were the Miss Universe 1980 and the 1986 Asian Games, thus demonstrating that it had the appropriate capability.^[13]

Highlights

• Soviet Vladimir Artemov won four gold medals in gymnastics.^[14] Daniela Silivaş of Romania won three and equalled compatriot Nadia Comăneci's record of seven perfect 10s in one Olympic Games.^[15]
• After having demolished the world record in the 100-metre dash at the US Olympic trials in Indianapolis, sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner set an Olympic record (10.62) in the 100-metre dash and a still-standing world record (21.34) in the 200-metre dash to capture gold medals in both events. To these medals, she added a gold in the 4×100 relay and a silver in the 4×400.^[16]
• This was the first Olympic Games where women's sailing was its own event. It was won by Americans Allison Jolly and Lynne Jewell.
• Canadian Ben Johnson won the 100-metre final with a world-record time of 9.79 seconds, but was disqualified after he tested positive for stanozolol. Johnson has since claimed that his positive test was the result of sabotage.^{[17] [18]}
• In the women's artistic gymnastics team all-around competition, the United States women's team was penalized five-tenths of a point from their team score by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) after the compulsory round. East German judge Ellen Berger noticed that Rhonda Faehn, who was the American team alternate and not competing, had been standing on the uneven bars podium for the duration of Kelly Garrison-Steve's compulsory uneven bars routine. Although Faehn was not a coach, Berger assessed the penalty under a rule prohibiting coaches from remaining on the podium while an athlete competes. The deduction caused the United States to fall to fourth place with a combined score of 390.575, three-tenths of a point behind East Germany. This incident remains controversial in the sport of gymnastics, as the United States outperformed the East German team and would have taken the bronze medal in the team competition had they not been penalized.
• Phoebe Mills won an individual bronze medal on the balance beam, shared with Romania's Gabriela Potorac, making history as the first medal (team or individual) ever won by a US woman in artistic gymnastics at a fully attended games.
• The USSR won their final team gold medals in artistic gymnastics on both the men's and women's sides with scores of 593.350 and 395.475 respectively. The men's team was led by Vladimir Artemov, while Elena Shushunova led the women's team.
• Lawrence Lemieux, a Canadian sailor in the Finn class, was in second place and poised to win a silver medal when he abandoned the race to save an injured competitor in mortal peril. He finished in 21st place, but was recognized by the International Fair Play Committee with the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy honoring his bravery and sacrifice.^[19]
• American diver Greg Louganis won back-to-back titles on both diving events despite striking his head on the springboard during his third-round dive and suffering a concussion.
• Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany won the silver medal in the women's sprint event in cycling. Combined with the two medals she won in speed skating in the Winter Games in Calgary, she became the first athlete to win medals in two Olympics held in the same year; this feat is no longer possible due to the current scheduling of the Olympic Games.^[20]
• Anthony Nesty of Suriname won his country's first Olympic medal by winning the men's 100-metre butterfly, prevailing over American Matt Biondi by .01 of a second (thwarting Biondi's attempt to match Mark Spitz's record seven golds in one Olympics).^[21] Nesty was the first black person to win an individual swimming gold.^[22]
• Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany won six gold medals. Other multi-gold medalists in the pool were Matt Biondi (five)^[23] and Janet Evans (three).^[24]
• Swedish fencer Kerstin Palm became the first woman to take part in seven Olympics.^[10]
• Mark Todd of New Zealand won his second consecutive individual gold medal in the three-day event in equestrian on Charisma, only the second time in eventing history that a gold medal has been won consecutively.^[25]
• Baseball^[26] and Taekwondo^[27] were demonstration sports. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison.
• This was the last time the United States was represented by an all-amateur basketball team that did not feature NBA players;^[28] the team won the bronze medal after losing to the Soviet Union (that was represented by veteran professionals) which went on to win the gold medal.^{[29] [30] [31]}
• For the first time in history, all the dressage events were won by women.^[32]
• Women's judo was held for the first time, as a demonstration sport.^[33]
• Bowling was held as a demonstration sport, with Kwon Jong Yul of South Korea and Arianne Cerdeña from the Philippines winning the men's and women's gold medals, respectively.
• Table tennis was introduced at the Olympics, with China and South Korea both winning two titles.^[34]
• Tennis returned to the Olympics after a 64-year absence.^[35] Steffi Graf of West Germany added to her four Grand Slam victories in the year by also winning the Olympic title in women's singles,^[36] beating Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina in the final.^[37] Graf became the first person to win all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold in a calendar year, known as the golden slam.
• Two Bulgarian weightlifters were stripped of their gold medals after failing doping tests, and the team withdrew after this event.^[38]
• In boxing, Roy Jones Jr. of the United States dominated his opponents, never losing a single round en route to the final. In the final, he controversially lost a 3–2 decision to South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun despite pummeling Park for three rounds and landing 86 punches to Park's 32.^{[39] [40] [41]}
• In another boxing controversy, Riddick Bowe of the United States lost a controversial match in the final to Canadian future world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Bowe had a dominant first round, landing 33 of 94 punches thrown (34%) while Lewis landed 14 of 67 (21%). In the first round the referee from East Germany gave Bowe two cautions for headbutts and deducted a point for a third headbutt, although replay clearly showed there was none. Commentator Ferdie Pacheco disagreed with the deduction, saying they did not hit heads. In the second round, Lewis landed several hard punches. The referee gave Bowe two standing eight counts and waved the fight off after the second one, even though Bowe seemed able to continue. Pacheco disagreed with the stoppage, calling it "very strange".^[42]
• Soviet weightlifter Yury Zakharevich won the men's heavyweight (up to 110 kg class) with a snatch and clean and jerk for a total. Zakhareivich had dislocated his elbow in 1983 attempting a world record and had it rebuilt with synthetic tendons.
• Indonesia gained its first medal in Olympic history when the women's team won a silver medal in archery.

Ceremonies

Live doves were released during the opening ceremony as a symbol of world peace, but a number of the doves were burned alive or suffered major trauma by the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. As a result of protests following the incident, the last time live doves were released during the opening ceremony was in 1992 in Barcelona, at the start of the ceremony. Balloon doves were released in 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics and paper doves were used at the Atlanta Ceremony in 1996.^[43]

These were also the last Summer Olympic Games to hold the opening ceremony during the daytime. The opening ceremony featured a skydiving team descending over the stadium and forming the five-colored Olympic Rings,^[44] as well as a mass demonstration of taekwondo. The skydiving team trained at SkyDance SkyDiving and had hoped the opening ceremony appearance would set the stage for skydiving becoming a medal event by 2000.^[45]

Domestic historical significance

The idea for South Korea to place a bid for the 1988 Games emerged during the last days of the Park Chung Hee administration in the late 1970s, as hosting the Olympics was a big opportunity to bring international attention to South Korea. But before that, it was necessary to prove the country's capacity, as South Korea was seen as an exotic and risky destination for large events.^[46] The project continued to run even after President Park's assassination in 1979. With the successful staging of Miss Universe 1980 and the 1986 Asian Games, Chun Doo-hwan, Park's successor, submitted Korea's bid to the IOC in September 1981, in hopes that the increased international exposure brought by the Olympics would legitimize his authoritarian regime amidst increasing political pressure for democratization and less rigidity in state policies. Further, he hoped it would provide protection from increasing threats from North Korea, and showcase the economic strength that the country was experiencing to the world.^[47] Seoul was awarded the bid on 30 September 1981, becoming the 16th nation in the Summer Olympics, as well as the second Asian nation (following Japan in the 1964 Summer Olympics) and the first mainland Asian nation to host the Olympics.

Influenced by the model of 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, which served as a rite of passage for the Japanese economy and re-integration of Japan in the international community in the post-war era, the South Korean government hoped to use the Olympics as a "coming-out party". The Olympics gave a powerful impetus to the development of South Korea's relations with Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and with China.^[48] In January 1982, South Korea's curfew that had been in place since 1945 was lifted.^[49]

In utilizing media events theory, Larson and Park investigated the Seoul Olympics as a form of political communication. They revealed the significance of South Korea's military government throughout the period of the Olympic bid and preparation, followed by the many advantages of the hosting the Games: rapid economic modernization, social mobilization and the legitimization of the military dictatorship.^[50]

Homeless camp expansion

Existing camps for "vagrants" (homeless persons) were ramped up before the 1988 Olympics. An Associated Press article states that homeless and alcoholic persons, "but mostly children and the disabled" were arrested and sent to these camps to prepare for the Olympics. In addition, a prosecutor had his investigation into the Brothers Home camp limited at a number of levels of government "in part out of fear of an embarrassing international incident on the eve of the Olympics."^[51]

In 1975, the previous president of South Korea had begun a policy of rounding up vagrants. According to government documents obtained by the Associated Press, from 1981 to 1986 the number of people held increased from 8,600 to more than 16,000.^[52] Police officers often received promotions based on the number of vagrants they had arrested, and owners of facilities received a subsidy based on the number of people held. There were multiple reports of inmates raped or beaten, and sometimes beaten to death.^[51]

4,000 of these "vagrants" were held at the Brothers Home facility. Many of the guards were former inmates who had been "promoted" because of loyalty to the camp's owner. Various money-making operations were conducted such as manufacturing ball-point pens and fishing hooks, as well as clothing for Daewoo. Only a few inmates were paid belatedly for this work.^[51]

By accident while on a hunting trip, prosecutor Kim Yong-won heard about and visited a work detail of prisoners in ragged clothes overseen by guards with wooden bats and dogs. In his words, he knew immediately that "a very serious crime" was occurring, and in January 1987, he led a raid on the facility and found beaten and malnourished inmates. He was politically pressured at various levels to reduce the charges against the owner, managers, and guards. In the end, the owner only served years in prison.^[51]

The Brothers Home was a religious facility based on the Christian faith. There were in fact inspections by both city officials and church officials. However, these were scheduled inspections in which healthier inmates were presented in carefully planned and orchestrated circumstances. There were no unannounced inspections.^[51]

In the 1990s, construction workers found about 100 human bones on a mountainside outside the location of the former Brothers Home.^[51] Victims of the Brothers Home are seeking a government investigation into the crimes committed and accountability.^[53]

Boycott

In preparation for the 1988 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee worked to prevent another Olympic boycott by the Eastern Bloc as had happened at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. This was made more difficult by the lack of diplomatic relations between South Korea and communist countries. This prompted action by the IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was committed to the participation of these countries. Thus, at the Assembly of National Olympic Committees in Mexico City in November 1984, the "Mexico Declaration"^[54] was adopted. The declaration offered support for participation in the 1988 Olympics by all members of the Association of National Olympic Committees. The agreement with the Soviet Union was reached in 1987. After the Los Angeles games, East Germany had already decided to participate again in Seoul. The IOC also decided that it would send invitations to the 1988 Games itself and did not leave this task to the organizing committee as had been done before. Despite these developments, behind the scenes, the IOC did consider relocating the Games and explored the suitability of Munich as an alternative.

Another point of conflict was the involvement of North Korea in hosting the Games, something that had been encouraged by Cuban president Fidel Castro, who called for North Korea to be considered joint host of the Games. As a result, on 8 and 9 January 1986 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the IOC President chaired a meeting of the North and South Korean Olympic Committees. North Korea demanded that eleven of the 23 Olympic sports be carried out on its territory, and also demanded special opening and closing ceremonies. It wanted a joint organizing committee and a united team. The negotiations were continued into another meeting, but were not successful. The IOC did not meet the demands of North Korea and only about half of the desired sporting events were offered to the North. So the focus thereafter was solely on Seoul and South Korea.^[55]

The games were boycotted by North Korea and its ally Cuba. Ethiopia, Albania and the Seychelles did not respond to the invitations sent by the IOC.^[4] Nicaragua did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations.^[5] Madagascar had been expected to participate before withdrawing for financial reasons.^[6]

Official theme song

See main article: Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song). In 1988, the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) produced and distributed an official song of the Seoul Games to publicize the Games to all the IOC member nations, encouraging their participation in the festival andconsolidating the harmony and friendship of the entire world citizens through the song. The song "Hand in Hand" was written by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and American songwriter Tom Whitlock, and performed by singing group Koreana.

Venues

See main article: Venues of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

• Seoul Sports Complex venues
  • Seoul Olympic Stadium – opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian (jumping individual final), football (final)
  • Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool – diving, modern pentathlon (swimming), synchronized swimming, swimming, water polo
  • Jamsil Gymnasium – basketball, volleyball (final)
  • Jamsil Students' Gymnasium – boxing
  • Jamsil Baseball Stadium – baseball (demonstration)
• Olympic Park venues
  • Olympic Velodrome – cycling (track)
  • Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium – weightlifting
  • Olympic Fencing Gymnasium – fencing, modern pentathlon (fencing)
  • Olympic Gymnastics Hall – gymnastics
  • Olympic Tennis Center – tennis
  • Mongchon Tosong – modern pentathlon (running)
• Other venues in metropolitan Seoul
  • Seoul Equestrian Park– equestrian (all but jumping individual final), modern pentathlon (riding)
  • Han River Regatta Course/Canoeing Site Course – canoeing, rowing
  • Saemaul Sports Hall – volleyball preliminaries
  • Hanyang University Gymnasium – volleyball preliminaries
  • Changchung Gymnasium – judo, taekwondo (demonstration)
  • Seoul National University Gymnasium – badminton (demonstration), table tennis
  • Royal Bowling Center – bowling (demonstration)
  • Dongdaemun Stadium – football preliminaries
  • Hwarang Archery Field, Nowon-gu – archery
  • Taenung International Shooting Range, Taenung – modern pentathlon (shooting), shooting
  • Streets of Seoul – athletics (20 km/ 50 km walk, marathon)
  • Jangchung Gymnasium – taekwondo (demonstration), judo
• Venues outside Seoul
  • Sangmu Gymnasium, Seongnam – wrestling
  • Daejeon Stadium, Daejeon – football preliminaries
  • Daegu Stadium, Daegu – football preliminaries
  • Busan Stadium, Busan – football preliminaries
  • Gwangju Stadium, Gwangju – football preliminaries
  • Suwon Gymnasium, Suwon – handball
  • Seongnam Stadium, Seongnam – field hockey
  • Busan Yachting Center, Busan – sailing
  • Tongillo Road Course – cycling (individual road race, road team time trial)

Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.
New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Cost

According to The Oxford Olympics Study data is not available to establish the cost of the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics.^[56] the cost of the stadium was 491 billion won, approximately US$354 million.

Sports

The 1988 Summer Olympics featured 23 different sports encompassing 31 disciplines, and medals were awarded in 237 events. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.

• Aquatics
  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Road (3)
  • Track (6)
    • Dressage (2)
  • Eventing (2)
  • Show jumping (2)
    • • • • Artistic (14)
  • Rhythmic (1)
    • • • • • • • • • • • Freestyle (10)
  • Greco-Roman (10)

Demonstration

• • Women's
• ^[10]

Exhibition

Badminton and bowling were held as exhibition sports, which did not require IOC approval and were not part of the official Olympic schedule.^[57]

Calendar

All times are local KST (UTC+10)Note: between May 8 and October 9, 1988,all the clocks in the country were advanced by one hour as a test of the possibility of adopting the daylight summer time in the country in the future. This advance also enabled the development of a sports calendar in which the main events were scheduled to be broadcast in major Western markets in television prime time.

●

Opening ceremony

Event competitions

●

Event finals

●

Closing ceremony

Date	September														October
	17th Sat	18th Sun	19th Mon	20th Tue	21st Wed	22nd Thu	23rd Fri	24th Sat	25th Sun	26th Mon	27th Tue	28th Wed	29th Thu	30th Fri	1st Sat	2nd Sun
Archery														● ●	● ●
Athletics							● ● ●	● ● ●	● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●		● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ●	● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●	●
Basketball													●	●
Boxing															● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ●
Canoeing														● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ●
Cycling		●		●		●		● ● ● ●		●	●
Diving		●		●					●		●
Equestrian						● ●			●		●	●				●
Fencing					●	●	●	●			●	●	●	●
Field hockey														●	●
Football (soccer)															●
Gymnastics				●	●	●	●	● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ●					●
Handball													●		●
Judo									●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Modern pentathlon						● ●
Rowing								● ● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Sailing											● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Shooting		● ●	● ●	● ●	● ●	●	● ●	● ●
Swimming			● ● ● ●		● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ●
Synchronized swimming														●	●
Table tennis														● ●	● ●
Tennis														● ●	● ●
Volleyball													●			●
Water polo															●
Weightlifting		●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●		●
Wrestling				● ● ●	● ● ● ●	● ● ●							● ● ●	● ● ●	● ● ● ●
Total gold medals		5	7	9	14	17	12	30	26	9	15	9	11	36	37	9
Ceremonies	●															●
Date	17th Sat	18th Sun	19th Mon	20th Tue	21st Wed	22nd Thu	23rd Fri	24th Sat	25th Sun	26th Mon	27th Tue	28th Wed	29th Thu	30th Fri	1st Sat	2nd Sun
	September														October

Participating National Olympic Committees

Athletes from 159 nations competed at the Seoul Games. Aruba, American Samoa, Brunei, Cook Islands, Maldives, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Yemen made their first Olympic appearance at these Games. Guam made their first Summer Olympic appearance at these games having participated in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

In the following list, the number in parentheses indicates the number of athletes from each nation that competed in Seoul:^[58]

• When the team from the Dominican Republic marched in during the Parade of Nations, the superimposed map erroneously showed the location of Cuba, a nation that did not take part at the Games.^[59]

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

8,453 athletes from 159 NOCs

IOC Letter Code	Country	Athletes
AFG		5
ALG		42
ASA		6
AND		3
ANG		24
ANT		15
ARG		118
ARU		8
AUS		252
AUT		73
BAH		16
BRN		7
BAN		6
BAR		17
BEL		59
BIZ		10
BEN		7
BER		12
BHU		3
BOL		7
BOT		8
BRA		160
IVB		3
BUL		172
BUR		6
BRU		0
BIR		2
CMR		15
CAN		328
CAY		8
CAF		15
CHA		6
CHI		17
CHN		273
COL		40
CGO		7
COK		7
CRC		16
CYP		9
TCH		163
DEN		78
DJI		6
DOM		16
ECU		13
EGY		49
ESA		6
GEQ		6
FIJ		23
FIN		78
FRA		266
GAB		2
GAM		6
GDR		259
FRG		347
PLE		354
GBR		345
GRE		56
GRN		6
GUM		19
GUA		28
GUI		6
GUY		8
HAI		4
HON		8
HKG		48
HUN		188
ISL		32
IND		46
INA		29
IRI		23
IRQ		27
IRL		61
ISR		18
ITA		253
CIV		28
JAM		35
JPN		255
JOR		7
KEN		74
KOR		401
KUW		25
LAO		3
LIB		21
LES		6
LBR		8
LBA		6
LIE		12
LUX		8
MAW		16
MAS		9
MDV		7
MLI		6
MLT		6
MTN		6
MRI		8
MEX		83
MON		9
MGL		28
MAR		27
MOZ		8
NEP		16
NED		147
AHO		3
NZL		83
NIG		6
NGR		69
NOR		69
OMA		8
PAK		30
PAN		6
PNG		11
PAR		10
PER		21
PHI		31
POL		143
POR		65
PUR		47
QAT		10
ROM		68
RWA		6
VIN		6
SMR		11
KSA		9
SEN		23
SLE		12
SIN		8
SOL		4
SOM		5
URS		481
ESP		229
SRI		6
SUD		8
SUR		6
SWZ		11
SWE		184
SUI		99
SYR		13
TPE		61
TAN		10
THA		14
TOG		6
TGA		5
TRI		6
TUN		41
TUR		41
UGA		24
UAE		12
USA		527
URU		15
VAN		4
VEN		17
VIE		9
ISV		22
WSM		11
YAR		8
YMD		5
YUG		155
ZAI		15
ZAM		29
ZIM		29

Medal table

See main article: 1988 Summer Olympics medal table. These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1988 Games.

Notes and References

1. Factsheet – Opening Ceremony of the Games of the Olympiad. live . International Olympic Committee. 9 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160814215458/https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Reference_documents_Factsheets/Opening_ceremony_of_the_Games_of_the_Olympiad.pdf . 14 August 2016. 22 December 2018.
2. Web site: Seoul 1988 Torch Relay. 2 June 2018. olympic.org.
3. Web site: Seoul surprises Nagoya for Olympic bid. 30 September 1981. UPI.
4. Book: John E. Findling. Kimberly D. Pelle. Historical Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. 1996. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-28477-9. 182–.
5. News: Janofsky. Michael. CUBANS TURN THEIR BACK ON THE SEOUL OLYMPICS. The New York Times. 16 January 1988. 27 September 2017.
6. Web site: Seoul Olympics 1988. 27 September 2017.
7. Web site: Seoul 1988: South Korea opens up to the world . 25 June 2020 . olympics.com.
8. News: OLYMPICS '88: A PREVIEW : THE HOST CITY : Seoul Rises From Ashes to Become Metropolitan Center of Distinction. Randy Harvey. Los Angeles Times . September 14, 1988.
9. Bridges . Brian . 2008-12-01. The Seoul Olympics: Economic Miracle Meets the World . The International Journal of the History of Sport . 25 . 14 . 1939–52 . 10.1080/09523360802438983. 143356778 . 0952-3367.
10. Web site: Seoul 1988. olympic.org. 12 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20091004191226/http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Games/All-Past-Olympic-Games/Summer/Seoul-1988/. 4 October 2009 . live.
11. Web site: Vote History. IOC. 7 October 2011. 25 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080525070757/http://www.aldaver.com/votes.html. dead.
12. Web site: Past Olympic host city election results . . 17 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110124022022/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/past.html . 24 January 2011 . live .
13. Web site: 第10届亚运会概况—1986年汉城亚运会 . Tencent Sports . 11 February 2019.
14. Web site: Honored Inductees – Vladimir Artemov . . 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071030190746/http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_artemov.html. 30 October 2007 . dead.
15. Web site: Honored Inductees – Daniela Silivas . www.ighof.com. 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194910/http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_silivas.html. 27 September 2007 . dead.
16. News: World Sport – Florence Griffith-Joyner . CNN. 6 October 2007 . 23 June 2004.
17. News: A Look at André Jackson, the Mystery Man (and friend of Carl Lewis) in the Drug testing area with Ben Johnson in Seoul. The Times Online (UK). 23 September 2003 . London . 23 September 2003. Laura. Pitel.
18. Web site: es . Ben Johnson acusa a EEUU de proteger a sus atletas dopados . . 6 October 2007 .
19. Web site: There are 2 prestigious awards named for the founder of the modern Olympic movement – here are 8 athletes who have won them . Praderio . Caroline . 23 August 2016 . Business Insider . 9 August 2024.
20. Encyclopedia: Christa Luding-Rothenburger Encyclopædia Britannica article . . 6 October 2007 .
21. News: Odds against Phelps eclipsing Spitz . 29 May 2008 . Reuters . 29 May 2008.
22. Web site: es . El deporte en el Sur. Alejandro Guevara Onofre, Liceus.com. 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071017015346/http://www.liceus.com/cgi-bin/ac/pu/Alejandro_Guevara_Deporte.asp. 17 October 2007 . live.
23. Web site: United States Olympic Committee – Biondi, Matt . . 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071010090004/http://www.usoc.org/26_37838.htm . 10 October 2007 . dead .
24. Web site: United States Olympic Committee – Evans, Janet . . 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230617/http://www.usoc.org/26_37840.htm . 11 October 2007 . dead .
25. Web site: History of Awards : 1980–1989 . Halberg Trust website . 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231704/http://www.powerupdates.com/clients/halberg/pages/a_article.asp?pid=0&cid=-630935410&aid=789227824 . 27 September 2007. dead.
26. Web site: Demonstration Sports at the Olympic Games. topendsports.com. 6 October 2007 .
27. Web site: About WTF – History . . 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071005052615/http://www.wtf.org/site/about_wtf/history.htm . 5 October 2007. live .
28. Web site: The Original Dream Team . . 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071024164412/http://www.nba.com/history/dreamT_moments.html . 24 October 2007 . dead.
29. News: THE SEOUL OLYMPICS: Men's Basketball; After 16-Year Wait, Soviets Stun U.S. Again, 82–76 . The New York Times . Peter . Alfano . 28 September 1988. 6 October 2007 .
30. News: Federation Rule Change Opens Olympics to N.B.A. Players. The New York Times. August 5, 2020. April 8, 1989.
31. Web site: History of basketball at Olympics: A tale of American domination.
32. Web site: Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics . sportsofworld.com . 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071013023535/http://www.sportsofworld.com/olympics/country-performance/canada/1988-seoul.html . 13 October 2007. dead . dmy.
33. Web site: Obukan Judo History . obukan.org . 6 October 2007. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071228094748/http://www.obukan.org/History.htm . 28 December 2007. dmy-all.
34. Web site: Olympic Table Tennis Champions. usatt.org. 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071020015722/http://usatt.org/organization/champions/olympic_champions.shtml. 20 October 2007 . dead.
35. News: The Seoul Olympics: Tennis; Tennis Returns to Good Reviews. The New York Times. Peter. Alfano. 2 October 1988.
36. Web site: es . Steffi graf, la mejor . elTenis.net . 6 October 2007. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080807155847/http://www.eltenis.net/tenis-femenino/steffi-graf-la-mejor.php . 7 August 2008. dmy-all.
37. Web site: es . Gabriela Sabatini – Fotos, Vídeos, Biografía, Wallpapers y Ficha Técnica . idolosdeportivos.com . 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071018024552/http://www.idolosdeportivos.com/tenis/gabriela-sabatini.php . 18 October 2007. dead . dmy-all.
38. News: The Seoul Olympics: Weight Lifting; Team Lifted After 2d Drug Test Is Failed. subscription. The New York Times. 6 October 2007. 24 September 1988.
39. News: In Losing, a Boxer Won . subscription . The New York Times . David . Mamet . 7 October 1988 . 10 April 2010.
40. News: Sports of The Times – Nice Gesture Substitutes For Justice . 26 September 1997. The New York Times . George . Vecsey . subscription . 16 April 2015.
41. Web site: Seoul Games scarred by riots. July 5, 2004. John . Mehaffey. in.rediff.com. 22 August 2008 .
42. Web site: Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe 88 Olympic Final. . FightFranchise . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/K39AbwNl3QU. 2021-10-30. 3 May 2017.
43. Web site: When messengers of peace were burned alive . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040829084509/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug132004/oly5.asp . 29 August 2004 . Deccan Herald . 12 August 2004 . 1 March 2024.
44. Web site: Demo Jumps . Columbus School of Skydiving . 5 March 2010. 25 September 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925160622/http://www.skydivecolumbus.com/demo_jumps.htm. dead.
45. News: Natt. Lorena. Skydivers aiming to elevate sport with Olympic jump. The Orange County Register. 5 September 1988. 12 July 2018.
46. Web site: Horton. Peter. Saunders. John. The 'East Asian' Olympic Games: what of sustainable legacies?. Taylor and Francis. 20 February 2015.
47. Manheim. Jarol. Rites of Passage: The 1988 Seoul Olympics as Public Diplomacy. The Western Political Quarterly. 43. 2. Western Political Science Association. 279–295. 448367. 1990. 10.2307/448367.
48. Cho. Ji-Hyun. Bairner. Alan. The sociocultural legacy of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Leisure Studies. 31. 3. 271–289. 10.1080/02614367.2011.636178. 2012. 144604578.
49. News: Tracy Dahl . January 18, 1982 . S. Koreans Enjoy Nights Without Curfew . The Washington Post.
50. Kang. Jaeho. Traganou. Jilly. 2011. The Beijing National Stadium as Media-space. Design and Culture. 3. 2. 145–163. 10.2752/175470811X13002771867761. 143762612.
51. News: AP: S. Korea covered up mass abuse, killings of 'vagrants'. Kim. Tong-Hyung. 20 April 2016. Associated Press News.
52. News: Hong. Sukjung. 21 August 2016. The Heinous Olympification of Seoul. The New Republic.
53. News: Hancocks . Paula . South Korea's shame: Child victims of Brothers Home abuse still searching for justice. October 25, 2016. 2021-07-28. CNN.
54. Web site: Mexico Declaration . library.la84.org . 1984 . 2021-12-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160826030125/http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1984/ore206/ORE206e.pdf . 2016-08-26.
55. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/nkidp-e-dossier-no-3-sport-and-politics-the-korean-peninsula-north-korea-and-the-1988 "Sport and Politics on the Korean Peninsula – North Korea and the 1988 Seoul Olympics"
56. Book: 2804554. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games. Flyvbjerg. Bent. Stewart. Allison. Budzier. Alexander. Saïd Business School Working Papers (Oxford: University of Oxford). 2016. Oxford. 9–13.
57. Web site: Competition Management by Sport . library.la84.org . 2018-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181007205113/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1988/1988v1p2.pdf . 2018-10-07 . unfit . 2024-01-27 . 362.
58. Web site: Olympic Games Participating Countries – 1988 Seoul . olympic-museum.de . 7 October 2007. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012133414/http://olympic-museum.de/part_count/1988.htm . 12 October 2007. dmy-all.
59. Lee Junewoo . 14 January 2014 . [1/3] Opening Ceremony – 1988 Seoul Olympic Games ]. 25 October 2016 . 38:15 .