Handball at the 1988 Summer Olympics

With the boycotts of 1980 and 1984 in the past, all the best nations could again make an appearance at the Olympics. A major surprise was the host nation, South Korea. Already a medallist at the devalued 1984 women’s tournament, they claimed gold, while taking silver in the men’s game.

The women’s field had been expanded from six to eight teams, meaning the single round-robin system was discontinued in favor of round-robin pools, with the four best teams advancing to a final pool.