The men's single sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea.

NOCs were limited to one boat apiece; 22 sent a competitor in the men's single sculls.

New Zealand earned its first medal in the event since 1920, with Eric Verdonk taking bronze.

The single sculls field included Finland's Pertti Karppinen (three-time defending gold medalist in 1976, 1980, and 1984), East Germany's Thomas Lange (then-current world champion, in his first Olympic appearance), and West Germany's Peter-Michael Kolbe (silver medalist behind Karppinen in 1976 and 1984, and five-time world champion).

Other Olympic veterans were France's Pascal Body (5th in quadruple sculls in 1984), Brazil's Denis Marinho (7th in coxed four in 1984), and Puerto Rico's Juan Felix (10th in this event in 1984).