Taekwondo at the 1988 Summer Olympics 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 to 20. Fighters from the host nation of South Korea won nine of the sixteen events. Team
Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics to bring taekwondo to the Olympics began in 1974 when taekwondo was admitted into the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). One of the AAU's primary roles is to establish standards for various sports nationwide. The World Taekwondo Federation's technical standards were adopted by the AAU Taekwondo group. In 1975, taekwondo became an affiliate of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The GAISF promotes cooperation among various international sports federations and works closely with the Olympics movement. Five years later, in 1980, the WTF was granted recognition by the IOC. The following year, taekwondo was one of the primary events