Who invented the Samsung phone? History of Samsung

The history of the Samsung industrial group, one of the monsters of the modern global economy, began in 1938, then in a unified Korea. An enterprising resident of the town of Daegu, trader Byong Chul Lee, decided to expand his business and, together with his Chinese partners, founded a rice trading company. Things were going well, the company was exploring new areas of activity, the staff was growing, and in 1948 it was decided to give the company a fashionable “American” name: Samsung Trading Co. There is no clear version about the origin of the word Samsung (pronounced “Samson”), but the most common version is that in Korean it means “three stars.” Perhaps the choice of name is related to the three sons of the company's founder, Byong Chul Lee, one of whom, Kun Hee Lee, currently heads the industrial group.

In 1969, the company made a breakthrough into the advanced electronics industry practically from scratch. Together with the Japanese company Sanyo, it was created Samsung Electronics Company “SEC”, which specialized in the production of semiconductors and a few years later became the property of Samsung.

A serious step forward in the history of the company occurred in 1969, when it, together with the Japanese company Sanyo, opened a workshop in South Korea for assembling black-and-white Japanese televisions. Already in 1973, a full-fledged large-scale production of various consumer electronics was established in the city of Suwon, and the joint venture came completely under the control of Samsung Trading Co and turned into the Samsung Electronics Corporation.

Having started its activities in the consumer electronics market practically from scratch, within a few years Samsung Electronics took a prominent place in it. By adopting Sanyo technology and then concentrating on the production of semiconductors, the corporation eventually became one of the largest and most famous electronics manufacturers in the world.

In August 1973, the corporation's headquarters moved to Suwon, South Korea, and by December, construction of a consumer electronics plant was completed. Later, the Korean company Semiconductor Co. joined the corporation, marking the beginning of mass production washing machines and refrigerators.

By 1978, a sales office was opened in the United States, and Samsung Electronics' export volumes exceeded $100 million. In 1979, the first consumer video recorders were released.

In 1980, Korea Telecommunications Co. joined the corporation, which was then renamed Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co.

In 1983, production of personal computers began (model: SPC-1000). And in 1983, the 64M DRAM chip with a memory capacity of 64 MB was released, SAMSUNG was the first to release a player capable of reading regular CDs, CD-ROMs, VIDEO-CDs, PHOTO-CDs, CD player - OK. A year later, a sales office was opened in England and a plant for the production of VCRs in the USA, and construction of the largest plant for the production of microwave ovens (2.4 million units per year) was completed.

In 1986, the Korean Management Association awarded Samsung Electronics the " Best company year." The same year was marked by the release of the ten millionth color television, the opening of sales offices in Canada and Australia, and research laboratories in California and Tokyo (Japan). In the fall of 1988, a representative office appeared in France, and the corporation merged with Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co.

By 1989, Samsung Electronics ranked 13th in the world in the production of semiconductor products and opened factories in Thailand and Malaysia. In 1992, factories were launched in China and Czechoslovakia, and the company itself was included in Group A, according to the international credit rating. In order to improve the management structure, in December of the same year, Samsung Electronics switched to unified system presidential administration.

In December 1991, the development of personal mobile telephone devices was completed.

In August 1992, the development of the mobile telephone system was completed.

The company's early logos featured three stars. But in 1993, Samsung, considering the previous logo to be inconsistent with the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem we are accustomed to saw the light of day - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the name of the company written inside. Great design and scale advertising campaign did their job: the logo became one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students at leading universities are now studying the change of the Samsung logo as an example of an exceptionally successful rebranding.

In 1994, sales reached US$5 billion, and the Mukoonhwa Factory, using disabled workers, opened in November. By 1995, exports exceeded US$10 billion, and in February Samsung Electronics acquired a 40.25% stake in computer company AST Co. (USA).

In September 1996, Samsung Electronics products were recognized as meeting the ISO-140001 standard.

In May 1997, the company became the first exporter of CDMA equipment to Shanghai (China). The company was elected as an “Olympic Partner” in the “Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturers” category.

Sprint Co. shipped personal communications devices (PCS) in June. (USA). And in July, the lightest in the world was developed cell phone CDMA weighs 137g.

By 1998, the corporation captured the main share of the LCD monitor market and began mass production of digital TVs. Samsung released in 1998 new model DVD player, where specially developed ADAT technology allows you to view discs recorded in the NTSC system on PAL and SECAM TVs without loss of image quality. Diamond heads were introduced into them, the number of which reached six. In March, development of the world's lightest personal telephony device (PCS, model SPH-4100) was completed. In January 1999, Samsung Electronics received the "Best Consumer Electronics Company" award, awarded annually by Forbes Global magazine.

Samsung Electronics is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, as well as in digital convergence technologies. The company employs about 70 thousand people in 87 offices in 47 countries. The company has four main divisions: Digital Media Network Business, Device Solution Network Business, Telecommunications Network Business and Digital Appliance Network Business.

Samsung has manufacturing enterprises in Mexico, Portugal, China, Thailand. Samsung is also largest producer cathode ray tubes (Samsung Display Devices Co “SDD”) and has factories in Korea, Malaysia and Germany.

Together with the American company General Instruments, it developed equipment for high-definition television. Samsung still lags behind Japanese companies, but is developing faster than them.

Labor productivity at Samsung is assessed not by the quantity of products produced, but by its quality.

The most profitable for Samsung was the production of semiconductors. Samsung has mastered the production of 64-bit microprocessors with a clock frequency of 800 MHz, which is designed for digital image and sound processing in TVs, camcorders and VCRs.

During the period 2000-2002, Samsung Electronics' position in the global ranking rose by 8 points, and the brand value increased by 30%.

Samsung Electronics knows that its future depends on its customers, so its main goal is to satisfy their needs. The main idea of ​​the corporation's business development is the ability to offer the consumer exactly the product in which he is most interested.

An equally important task for Samsung Electronics is the desire to increase profits for shareholders. To this end, the company continues to work, striving to expand its position in the global market as a global corporation.

Samsung Electronics sees itself as leading the “Era of Revolutionary Digital Convergence”; our task is to turn this vision into reality by turning our company into a digital one - Digital-? Company,” this is how the essence of Samsung Electronics’ philosophy is formulated on the corporation’s official website. The company began to put this philosophy into practice back in the 1990s in all areas of its activities, including the production of televisions.

Samsung Electronics is always looking for ways to change and improve the world. The company's efforts are aimed at protecting environment, support for culture and sports, development of social programs useful to society.

Today it is difficult to find an industry in which Samsung divisions are not involved. Literally everything is produced under this brand: from microwave ovens and toasters to digital cameras and stereo systems, from cars to ocean-going ships and aircraft. On the domestic market South Korea Samsung Group is also engaged in financial transactions, insurance and security activities, as a result of which it forms more than 50% of the country's total budget. Almost half a million employees work in the corporation's representative offices around the world, and the South Korean city of Suwon, where the headquarters of Samsung Electronics is located, has long been called “Samsung City.”

Manufacturer Samsung

Samsung - worldwide famous brand Korean household appliances and audio and video equipment. The name Samsung literally means "three stars".

This is a joint Chinese and South Korean company.

When Samsung was born in 1969, it produced household appliances; after the Korean company Semiconductor Co joined the company, mass release under the company's brand of refrigerators and washing machines, and since 1983, personal computers.

The company has conquered new heights year after year, gaining worldwide recognition and winning ever larger market shares.

In 1986, the company received the "Best Company of the Year" award from the Korean Management Association. In the same year, the ten millionth color TV was produced under the Samsung brand, and sales offices opened in Canada and Australia Samsung. Research laboratories of the Korean company began work in California and Tokyo (Japan).

By 1998, the world-famous corporation had become one of the largest manufacturers and sellers of LCD monitors and launched mass production of digital TVs.

Currently, everyone knows Samsung Electronics as an innovator in the world modern technologies, Samsung Electronics is rightfully included in the top twenty largest brands world market.

Samsung Electronics products have a 3-year mandatory warranty, the consumer has the right to free service at authorized service centers for all products purchased from Samsung Electronics.

*country of manufacturer means the country in which the brand was founded and its headquarters are based

In the 21st century, many companies from different countries They transfer production to China and other countries with inexpensive labor, as this saves a lot of money, and without sacrificing quality. Yes, contrary to the popular stereotype, not everything made in China is bad.

A clear confirmation of this can be the smartphones of the South Korean Samsung, which have long been produced and assembled not only in China, but also in Vietnam.

So, what country of manufacture could the Galaxy S7 have? There are only three options:

  • Korea.
  • Vietnam.
  • China.

And for some reason everyone wants the Korean version of the smartphone. Let's use China as an example to see why you shouldn't be afraid of assemblies from factories in other countries.

There is no need to be afraid of buying an expensive Galaxy S7 because it was made in China. Nowadays, most companies manufacture their products in the Middle Kingdom. At the same time, of course, marketers focus on the origin of the brand - Japan, Germany, USA - but tactfully remain silent about the place of production and assembly. This is done precisely because of the stereotype about the low quality of Chinese goods.

In the case of any things made in China, the rule that the more expensive the better is truer than ever. A cheap Chinese smartphone with a built-in antenna and TV, bought for a couple of thousand rubles, will most likely slow down ungodly and freeze regularly, but for a moment, remember how much it cost. And some Galaxy S7, which costs more than some people earn per month, is of excellent quality for the same assembly location.

Those who are still intimidated by “Chinese quality” should look around and wonder how many of the objects around them are made in China. Most likely, this extensive list will include a refrigerator, laptop, system unit computer with all its contents, TV, smartphone, router, speaker system, jeans, shirts, bed sheets, kettle, microwave... The list will be very, very long.

What matters is not the place where the Galaxy S7 is produced and assembled, but the fact that Samsung’s Chinese factories have strict quality control, and the production and assembly processes themselves have long been fine-tuned during the pilot launch of the model in Korea. Yes, practical Koreans first start production at home, fix all the problems, and only then send the proven and proven scheme to their own factories in China.

So, don't shy away from buying the coveted Galaxy S7 just because it comes from China. On the contrary, at the initial stages of production - in the first batches (when smartphones are assembled only in Korea), various defects, manufacturing defects, etc. are possible. And these shortcomings are corrected with each new batch - the “fresh” the phone, the fewer shortcomings it has. And when the assembly moves to a plant in another country, everything is assembled there “as it should be.”

The only thing you shouldn't do is buy a copy of the Galaxy S7, but that's a conversation for.

And of course, we must remember that any other similar smartphones are either entirely produced there or assembled in other countries from Chinese components. And the place of assembly no longer matters - what difference does it make where the smartphone is assembled if it is assembled by error-free robots?

It's time for awesome wonderful stories. This time I will tell you the history of Samsung Corporation, where it started, how and where it went, and what it finally came to. To whom and what does it owe its development and what it looks like now.
It all started around 1932, when young Lee Byong-chul, the son of fairly wealthy peasants and a graduate of Tokyo University, opened his warehouse in the small city of Daegu, selling rice flour. Yes, yes, if you want to be the largest phone manufacturer (like Nokia or Samsung), start a business that is completely unrelated to this - make paper, sell flour, save kittens.

At that time, all of Korea was a colony of Japan, which in every possible way stifled the spirit of entrepreneurship, which is why the country was in fact a very large vegetable garden with a very poor population.
Cheap labor force gave excellent prices for goods, and by 1938 our hero became the first to transport flour to China. Things went well and the man began to transport not only flour, but also rice, sugar, fish and other things. people need nonsense for survival, taking it away from the poor Korean workers. It was then, in 1938, that it was registered trademark Samson Trading (this is how the name Samsung is correctly pronounced)

Samsung literally means “three stars,” which you can see on all early versions of the logo. There is a beautiful legend that the name was given in honor of his three sons, but the problem is that in 1938 he didn’t have them yet and he hardly even thought about it.


Things were going uphill and by the beginning of the Second World War Lee was fully armed: when American troops landed on the peninsula, its factories that produced various kinds of hats were quickly converted into factories producing beer and vodka, which good-natured and rich Americans happily bought at even quite inflated prices, creating capital for Lee Biong.


In 1950 it began korean war - North Korea against the south. The entrepreneur's warehouses and factories were burned or looted, and Lee himself was put on the northerners' hit list for aiding and bribing the then (and first) president of South Korea. Chul, realizing that things are bad, is going to flee to the south.

There is another legend that is gradually growing into two. One by one, he collects all the money and gives it to his driver, whom he sends to the south, but the driver is caught in the middle of the journey and taken prisoner. However (!) he manages to hide the money in one of the houses, which later (!) burned down, but by a lucky chance (!) the chest with the money survived and Lee Byung later miraculously (!) finds it.
According to the second legend, Chhun accidentally (!) finds someone else's burnt house and someone else's money in a chest, which he later uses to degenerate the business.
These are the Korean legends.


After the capture and execution of the first, evil president of South Korea, a second, good one comes to power, who begins a series of industrial and economic reforms. In particular, an attempt was made to replace the import of goods with domestic production. To do this, the president asked the United States for thousands of money for development, in fact brazenly stealing it and spending it on women and booze. Our hero didn’t get the booze and the chicks, but in addition to money, the United States also gave out orders for the production of all kinds of products, on which the newly recreated Samsung could make good money. It was during this period and for these orders that companies such as Daewoo, LG (formerly GoldStar) and Hyundai were created, rather large companies today.


By the end of the sixties, the founder of Samsung became the most influential and largest entrepreneur in the country. Realizing that the story with the president and his factories could repeat itself, he begins to travel to Japan, establish contacts with the mythical traders there, and Sanyo becomes the first sign, merging with which Samsung receives the Group prefix and the Samsung Electronics division.


While the head of Samsung was traveling around Japan, a coup occurred again in his homeland, and again the evil president was in power! Lee Biong, without wasting a moment, talks with the new president and convinces him that it is his company that is capable of leading the country out of crisis, wars and bringing happiness and joy in the future and throughout the planet. But to do this, he had to be made the head of economics, and his company had to be given the best and largest orders. And the president agreed.

Here it is worth making a note about the personality of the main character. He was a cunning, crafty man. Only his desire for profit and life saved his skin and literally begged for such privileges. Don't think that he was a kind entrepreneur who loved his employees and earned the respect of the president.

Samsung Group begins to actively engage in the production of paper (the government gave Samsung the care of the only paper factory) and fertilizers (again, the only ones in the country), they began to build and restore hospitals, hotels, universities, engage in insurance, and by the year 70 Samsung took up heavy production. The corporation in fact began to serve the country, continuing to increase Lee's fortune.

In parallel with this, the company decides to enter a new market - electronics, starting to collect hair dryers and black and white TVs with the help of Sanyo. At some point, realizing that they could do all this without Sanyo, they said goodbye to the company, making their own components for TVs and hair dryers.


At the same time, democracy comes to the country (this time for real) and the flow of money and government orders stops, many institutions, such as hospitals and schools, are transferred back to the state, Samsung has to tighten its belts. The entire board, which consisted of Lee's close and distant relatives, on his own order, was dismissed and European and Western experts were hired in their places, who could not only preserve the current one, but also increase it (what was once found in the ashes , lol).


In 1983, the company began producing computers and components.
In 1987, the company's founder, Lee Byung-chul, died in Seoul at the age of 77.
By 1991 production begins mobile phones.

But most of all, Samsung, of course, “rose” in monitors and televisions; factories were erected in many large countries in order to fully supply domestic markets. So, for example, all Samsung TVs and monitors sold in Russia are produced at the company’s plant in Kaluga region.


Now Samsung is not just a multi-billion dollar company, but also a leader in many industries, collecting not only well-known phones and electronics. In addition, Samsung does not hesitate to continue to engage in the chemical and heavy industries, build houses, cars, planes, ships, as well as issue loans and insurance. Samsung is an elegantly structured corporation, with branches in different industries that not only generate income, but also help lead its main directions forward.


For example, the construction division can build factories, the light industry division can sew clothes for workers in these factories, and the finance and credit department can insure life and issue loans. The automobile concern produces cars for various kinds of managers, and the plant itself produces those same monitors and televisions.

The experience that the company gained in raising the country as planned was not forgotten, but, on the contrary, was wisely applied.

On March 1, 1938, in the South Korean town of Daegu, local entrepreneur Byong Chul Lee, who traded rice, founded a new company together with his Chinese partners in order to expand his then business. The starting capital at that time was $2000. It is from this moment that it begins history of Samsung, which means "Three Stars" and is pronounced "Samson" in South Korean.

At first, Lee's organization was engaged in the export of rice, sugar, noodles and dried fish to China and Manchuria. Already in 1939, the company acquired a brewery, after which wine and rice vodka were added to the range.

Thanks to Byong Chul Lee's commercial sense, intuition and managerial talent, things were going very well; The staff and sales volumes increased. Even the Second world war could not have any significant impact negative influence for his business. After its completion, the product catalog was added sewing machines, steel and fertilizers. And in 1948, Lee and his partners decided to be called the then fashionable name in the American style, Samsung Trading Co.

Korean War and years after it

Period 1950-1953 became a very severe test for the company. Its main production lines and warehouses were destroyed, and the business itself was virtually destroyed. But its creator went down in history because he did not give up and managed to achieve the impossible: Samsung was literally reborn from the ashes. It was important to find the strength to continue activities, and this could not have happened without the support of the South Korean government, which made a bid for restoration post-war economy to large concerns (chaebols). Effective measures in the form of benefits, loans and government orders did their job: Samsung Trading Co became one of the leading corporations in the country.

In the 60-70s, Lee's business expanded noticeably: a powerful fertilizer factory was built, participation in the South Korean insurance system was developed, a newspaper was established; The construction of hospitals, hotels, universities and even ships also begins. And all this under a well-known brand.

Interesting fact: The construction of the Burj Khalifa tower in the UAE (the tallest building in the world), the twin towers in Malaysia and a number of other unique objects, including a large-capacity ship of the same name - all this is the merit of Samsung Corporation.

Start of production of household appliances

In 1969, the first English-language logo for the Korean monster of the global economy was created. At the same time, a division for the production of black and white televisions was opened together with Sanyo. In 1973, this partnership became fully controlled by Samsung Trading Co. and subsequently, after the transformation, became known as Samsung Electronics Corporation.

In subsequent years, their product line was replenished with the following types of goods:

  • 1974 – refrigerators and washing machines;
  • 1977 – color televisions;
  • 1979 – video recorders, cameras and microwave ovens;
  • 1983 – personal computers;
  • 1991 – cell phones;
  • 1999 – smartphones.

The corporation managed to become the first in Korea, accounting for a fifth of the country's total exports. In 1978, a representative office of the company was opened in America. Thus began the path to conquering world leadership.

Interesting fact: More than 70% of the concern's sales come from electronics. Today, the corporation's leading division, Samsung Electronics, is a world leader in the production of household appliances and electronics. And the Samsung Heavy Industry division, engaged in shipbuilding, occupies an honorable second place in the world.

The year 1986 was marked by the awarding of the “Best Company of the Year” prize by the Korean Management Association, as well as the release of the 10 millionth color television. At the same time, the company opened sales offices in Canada and Australia, and in addition, research laboratories began operating in California and Tokyo.

Interesting fact: According to British research companies, in the summer of 2005 the total cost Samsung brand for the first time exceeded the similar cost of Sony.

History of the company's mobile line

Smartphones from this corporation cannot boast of a high price and the status of the “premium” segment of the telephone market. This place is honorable and has been occupied for a long time by the company Vertu, which almost went bankrupt. We wrote material about her

In 1994, the total volume

The corporation's sales exceeded $5 billion, and in 1995, export turnover already exceeded $5 billion.

In 1997, Samsung released a CDMA mobile phone weighing just 137 grams - the lightest in the world.

Since 1998, the corporation has occupied a leading global position in the production of LCD monitors. At the same time, mass production of digital televisions began. And just a year later, in 1999, Forbes Global magazine awarded Samsung the honorary title of “Best Household Appliances Company.”

Interesting fact: In Russia, the first Samsung production facility opened in Kaluga in 2008. An area of ​​47.3 hectares was allocated for the industrial complex. The total investment amounted to 3.5 billion rubles.

After the death of the corporation's founder in 1987, it was headed by his son Lee Kun-hee.

He revised the then concept of large-scale production of budget-quality products, focusing not on their cheapness and mass production, but on high-quality innovative products that are ahead of market trends. This decision turned out to be very successful and subsequently significantly increased the brand’s image in the world. As a result, having made a choice between quantity and quality in favor of the latter, the corporation only benefited, and now can boast of both.

Interesting fact: Thanks to the worldwide fame and popularity of the brand, the city of Suwon, where the corporation's headquarters has been located since 1973, is popularly called Samsung-City.

Video: History of Samsung Corporation in 100 seconds