Taekwondo at the 1988 Summer Olympics USA women won first place and the USA women's and men's team overall placed second to Korea Taekwondo at the 1988 Summer Olympics Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. 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 different nations competed in eight different weight classes. Each event featured a single-elimination tournament to determine the winner. Competition was held at the Changchung Gymnasium from September 17
Taekwondo arts. The umbrella term "traditional taekwondo" typically refers to the martial arts practiced by the kwans during the 1940s and 1950s, though in reality the term "taekwondo" had not yet been coined at that time, and indeed each Kwan (martial art school) was practicing its own unique style of martial art. During this time taekwondo was also adopted for use by the South Korean military, which increased its popularity among civilian martial arts schools. After witnessing a martial arts demonstration by the military in 1952, South Korean President Syngman Rhee urged that the martial arts styles of the kwans be