A brief history of Samsung  

Lee Byung-Chull established Samsung in South Korea way back in 1938. He began in business by exporting vegetables, fruits and dried fish in Seoul. In 1950 when the communists attacked South Korea he lost a large art of his business and fortune. Undetered, he moved to Suwon in 1951 and in just 2 years was able to increase his company staff and icrease turnover by 2000%. His first production factory, a sugar processing plant, was built in 1953 just after the war but he continued as a dealer vending goods. He branched out to open outlets for commercial purposes as well as selling insurance and securities.

Samsung Electronics was established in 1969 with the support of South Korea's President, Park Chung-hee. Financial assistance was provided when necessary and he even prohibited foreign companies doing business in South Korea. This eliminated rivalry and allowed Korean companies to grow. Park Chung-hee allowed some foreign businesses into South Korea, on the understanding that they provide the skills, knowledge and technology to South Korea. This helped Samsung Electronics in many ways and enabled the company to create electronic chips and boards.

Soon after, Samsung created its own electronic appliances - freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines. They started exporting them to Canada and other foreign countries. Deciding to branch out and enter into the communications industry, the company borrowed money and started to manufacture televisions and audio apparatus in the early part of 1970. Samsung also opened his own TV channel, Tongyan Broadcasting Company in the 70s. That same year, the company created another division concentrating on heavy industrial developments like home electronics, oil refineries and shipbuilding. Consequently, other divisions were established like Samsung Precision Company, Samsung Heavy Industries Company and Samsung Shipbuilding.

Samsung continued to grow throughout the 80s and became successful in all the industries it had ventured. But Byung-Chull did not stop from there and carried on venturing into other markets such as genetic engineering, aerospace and even nanotechnology. The company started building bigger manufacturing plants for its appliances and electronics from 1982 and 1987 in New York, New England and Portugal. Serving his company for 50 years, Lee Byung-Chull died in November 19, 1987 and his position was taken by his son, Kun-Hee Lee.

To date, the company continues to grow with 26 divisions and 75,000 employees. It has also become a great brand name for home appliances and gadgets.

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