Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. It was the first time that the sport was included in the Olympic program; it would become an official sport twelve years later at the 2000 Games. A total of 120 men and 62 women from 35 nations competed in eight

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

es. Each event featured a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

to determine the winner. Competition was held at the

Changchung Gymnasium The Jangchung Arena () is an indoor sporting arena located in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. Volleyball teams GS Caltex Seoul KIXX and Seoul Woori Card WooriWON are the tenants. History At first, the arena was an army gymnasium, built on ...

from September 17 to 20. Fighters from the host nation of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

won nine of the sixteen events.

Men's events

Finweight (–50 kg)

Flyweight (50–54 kg)

Bantamweight (55–58 kg)

Featherweight (58–64 kg)

Lightweight (64–70 kg)

Welterweight (70–76 kg)

Middleweight (76–83 kg)

Heavyweight (+83 kg)

Women's events

Finweight (–43 kg)

Flyweight (43–47 kg)

Bantamweight (47–51 kg)

Featherweight (51–55 kg)

Lightweight (55–60 kg)

Welterweight (60–65 kg)

Middleweight (65–70 kg)

Heavyweight (+70 kg)

Abbreviations

*DIS — Opponent did not participate in weigh-in *KO — Won by Knock-Out *INJ — Won by opponent Injury *PTS — Won by Points *RSC — Won by Referee Stopping the Contest *SUP — Won by Superiority *WDR — Won by opponent Withdrawal

Medals

References

* {{Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics 1988 Summer Olympics events

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Olympic demonstration sports 1988 in taekwondo Men's events at the 1988 Summer Olympics Women's events at the 1988 Summer Olympics