Seoul hosted the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in 1988.
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially branded Seoul 1988, were held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 17 to October 2. They were the first Olympic Games staged in South Korea and only the second Summer Olympics held in Asia, after Tokyo in 1964.
Seoul's selection was announced in 1981, when it defeated Nagoya, Japan, in the host-city vote. The Games became an important symbol of South Korea's rapid economic development and its transition toward greater political openness after years of authoritarian rule.
The event is sometimes confused with the 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Canada, earlier that year. Seoul's Summer Games included 237 events in 23 sports, introduced table tennis to the Olympic program, and marked tennis's return after a long absence. North Korea and several allies boycotted the Games, but participation still reached a Cold War-era high.