The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad (Hangul: 서울 하계 올림픽; Hanja: 서울 夏季 올림픽; RR: Seoul Hagye Ollimpik), were an international multi-sport event celebrated from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.

In the Seoul Games, 159 nations were represented by a total of 8,391 athletes: 6,197 men and 2,194 women. 263 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics. 11,331 media (4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters) showed the Games all over the world.

These were the last Olympic Games for two of the world's "dominating" sport powers, the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games.

North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, and its allies, Albania (who declared an Olympic-record fourth consecutive boycott), Ethiopia, Cuba, Madagascar, and Seychelles boycotted the games. Nicaragua boycotted the games because of the U.S. military support to the Contra rebels. However, the much larger boycotts seen in the previous three Summer Olympics were avoided, resulting in the largest ever number of participating nations during the Cold War era.

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