The 1988 Summer Paralympics (Hangul: 서울 하계 패럴림픽; hanja: 서울 夏季 패럴림픽; RR: Seoul Hagye Paeleollimpik), were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.
The games consisted of events in seventeen sports, including one demonstration sport, but the medals count for the official medal list. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport.[1]
Sixty delegations took part in the Seoul Paralympics.[2]Burma, which had taken part in the previous Games, was absent. The Seoul Paralympics occurred mere weeks after the 8888 Uprising and the military coup which brought the State Peace and Development Council to power. Burma would return as Myanmar in 1992.[3]
The Soviet Union made its Summer Paralympic début, having previously taken part in the 1988 Winter Paralympics. It was not only the USSR's first participation in the Summer Games, but was also to be its last, as the Union was dissolved prior to the 1992 Summer Paralympics. It won a total of 56 medals, of which 21 gold.[4]