Seoul Hosts the 1988 Olympics Without a Cold War Boycott
A 76-year-old marathon champion who once had to run under a Japanese name lights the torch
Quick facts
- Dates
- September 17 - October 2, 1988
- Torch bearer
- Sohn Kee-chung, 1936 Olympic marathon champion
- Boycotting nations
- North Korea, Cuba
- South Korea's medal rank
- 6th overall
What happened
At the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXIV Olympiad on September 17, 1988, 76-year-old Sohn Kee-chung carried the Olympic torch into Jamsil Stadium. Sohn had won the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but Japan's colonial rule had forced him to compete under a Japanese name and the Japanese flag; carrying the torch as a free Korean in his own country's Olympics was, in the words of one American diplomat present, an emotional moment for all South Koreans. Only Cuba and North Korea formally boycotted the Games, after North Korea's demand to co-host had been rejected following years of IOC negotiation; a few smaller countries stayed away for unrelated reasons. South Korean athletes finished sixth in the medal count, behind the USSR, East Germany, the United States, and West Germany. It was the first Summer Olympics in twelve years, since Montreal in 1976, without a serious Cold War boycott splitting the field.
Why it matters
Seoul 1988 was South Korea's global coming-out event, a visible demonstration that a country devastated by war just 35 years earlier had rebuilt into a stable, prosperous, internationally credible state capable of hosting the world's largest sporting event, arriving the same year the country cemented its transition to direct democratic elections.
How we know
The account of the Seoul Olympics comes from a first-hand narrative by a U.S. Foreign Service Officer who served as the American embassy's Olympic coordinator throughout the 1988 Games, published by the Korea-focused analysis outlet 38 North.
Sources
- 38 North (Stimson Center). The 1988 Olympics in Seoul: A Triumph of Sport and Diplomacy · General source38north.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- HISTORY (A&E Television Networks). The Terrorist Attack That Failed to Derail the 1988 Seoul Olympics · Reputable sourcehistory.com · The domain "history.com" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.
Part of a timelineHistory of Korea31 events · A bear who became a woman, a peninsula fought over by every dynasty in East Asia, and an alphabet built to make everyone literate in a matter of daysView all →