At first, the arena was an army gymnasium, built on 23 June 1955.[3] It was later fully reconstructed and opened on 1 February 1963.[3][4] In 1966, the venue hosted a boxing match between Kim Ki-soo and Nino Benvenuti, where Kim became the first South Korean to win the boxing world championships.[3] During the 1970s, the venue hosted the presidential elections and inaugurations of Park Chung Hee and Choi Kyu-hah.[3] The venue hosted judo and taekwondo events at the 1988 Summer Olympics. After the 2012–2014 renovation, the capacity of the arena is 4,507.[2]