50 Things You Didn't Know About Samsung

75 years worth of fun facts about the tech giant.

May 24, 2013

Image via Complex Original

It was in 1938 when founder Lee Byung-chull established Samsung as a trading business that specialized in a different sector of the consumer market other than electronics. Nearly three decades later, the company developed its true identity and took the tech industry by storm with its innovative offerings. Mobile phones, televisions, and even smart refrigerators—you name the product and Samsung's already left an indelible mark.

The recent success of its Galaxy S smartphone series serves as a testament to the South Korean chaebol’s heavyweight status, placing it in the same elite class as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. But behind its innovative marketing campaigns and record-breaking sales lies a history of fails, successes, and intriguing business practices that have defined Samsung throughout its 75 years. Here we present 50 Things You Didn't Know About Samsung.

Samsung was originally founded as a trading company that specialized in selling local groceries and produced noodles as its flagship product.

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The company name means “three stars” in Korean hanja characters—three translating to “big, numerous, and powerful” and stars meaning “eternity.”

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50 Things You Didn't Know About Samsung

75 years worth of fun facts about the tech giant.

Samsung was originally founded as a trading company that specialized in selling local groceries and produced noodles as its flagship product.

The company name means “three stars” in Korean hanja characters—three translating to “big, numerous, and powerful” and stars meaning “eternity.”

A group of psychologists are assigned to select K-pop music played in Samsung's flagship mobile manufacturing complex, Gumi, to help relieve stress in the work environment.

Not knowing which size screen would work best for the Galaxy S, the call was made to create panels of every size until designers settled on the right dimension: four inches.

According to reports, Samsung spends more on its yearly advertising budget than Apple, Coca Cola, Dell, HP, and Microsoft combined. We're talking an estimated $12 billion.

Samsung was a major investor for some of your favorite 90s fashion lines with the two most popular being Coogi and FUBU.

The first-ever product released by Samsung Electronics was a 12-inch, black-and-white TV set in 1970.

Legend has it CEO Kun Hee-lee was so upset over the terrible quality of the company’s first cell phone, he invited employees to the courtyard as he burned the entire inventory (over $50 million worth). He then forced factory workers to wear headbands that read “Quality First”.

Having started with just two designers in the entire company, its corporate design center now has over 900 full-time designers at work.

Its headquarters are operated in a specially built complex called Digital City, housing several of the company’s businesses across a region that is nearly the size of 250 soccer fields.

Samsung also runs South Korea’s largest amusement park called Everland Resort, which also consists of a zoo and water park named Caribbean Bay where employees get free passes for year round.

As a multinational conglomerate, the Samsung Group accounts for one fifth (est. 15 percent) of South Korea’s exports.

The original iPhone and numerous other devices run on Samsung-manufactured processing chips.

Samsung is made up of over 80 businesses that operate in different markets from electronics to life insurance. Some of its most popular subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics, Engineering, Heavy Industries, Securities, and more.

The company has its own four-million-square-foot shipyard in the city of Geoje that is billed as the “world’s most efficient shipbuilding center.”

Samsung introduced its own mobile operating system known as Bada and launched the first OS-based handset, the Samsung Wave S8500, months before bringing its flagship Android device to the US market: the Galaxy S.

Not only is Lee Kun-hee acknowledged as South Korea’s most wealthiest man, but his family ranks among the richest in the world.

Mostly known for its electronics, the company has also manufacturerd cars under its Renault Samsung Motors imprint for over 20 years in South Korea.

Since establishing its electronics division, the company has utilized three different logos with its current design standing as the marquee since March 1993.

Samsung Electronics alone employs over 370,000 workers worldwide—more than Apple (est. 80,000) and Microsoft (est. 97,811) combined.

Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission investigated Samsung after discovering it hired a marketing firm to bash HTC by writing negative reviews on their One flagship phone via online forums.

Even when the company was headed near bankruptcy, Samsung still managed to survive the 1997 Asian financial crisis unscathed and went on to become the biggest company in South Korea.

90 percent of its products are manufactured in house.

The Samsung Engineering and Construction Group help build the tallest the building in the world: the Burj Khalifa.

As of Q1 2012, Samsung Electronics has surpassed Nokia as the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer.

It's also been the world’s largest supplier of memory chips over the past 20 years...

…As well as the top-selling TV maker throughout the past six years.

Samsung’s first-ever mobile device was a car phone introduced in 1986.

In order to be considered for the job selection and interview process, candidates must have a Ph.D. or a Master’s degree in a number of fields (engineering, mathematics, physics, etc.) with two years of R&D experience.

The majority of its $8.27 billion profit last quarter is attributed to smartphone sales.

Tim Cook was originally against suing Samsung due to its vital role in supplying components for some of Apple's key mobile products such as the iPad and iPhone.

Employees bask in a number of company benefits including access to fitness centers in each business site, condominum assistance at resorts, and child tuition and day care center support.

Samsung’s first computer, the 8-bit SPC-1000 desktop, hit the market before the first Windows-operated PC back in 1983.

Over $14.5 billion won ($1.2 billion USD) was been spent on employee payroll.

Samsung Electronics is the owner of over 100,000 patents worldwide.

Every year, Samsung donates over $100 million to its non-profit Medical Center, which consists of several hosiptals and medical research facilities.

Sir Robin Jacob, the judge most famous for forcing Apple to issue a public apology to Samsung, was hired as a legal consultant for the company in a seperate case brought up againt Ericsson.

Contrary to popular belief, the Galaxy S Vibrant wasn’t the company's first Android phone. That title goes to the international Samsung i7500.

Looking to expand on its enterprise portfolio, the company went on to establish Samsung Sports and owns a number of professional teams ranging from Baseball to eSports.

In 1993, Samsung developed one of the first “ultra-light” mobile phones at the time with the 100-gram SH-700 model. Its slimmer design paved the way for other companies to produce less bulkier cellulars.

Proving its strong stance on future technology development, over $10.8 billion was spent on R&D in 2012.

The S placed at the end of the Galaxy series name stands for "Supersmart."

In 2010, it became the first company to launch the first-ever Full HD 3D LED TV, plus the first 3D home theater system.

Samsung Electronics global presence is massive with the company operating in over 60 countries.

Look at the company’s website and you’ll notice it has 146 phones listed with more than half being Android devices.

Samsung claims to have successfully tested its new 5G wireless network indicating the technology is "up to several hundred times faster" and will be available come 2020.

Over 100,000 Galaxy S III covers were replaced after a customer complained about the back plates for the phone looking inferior to the demo models shown off earlier in the year.

The company owns a private university, Sungkyunkwan University, which has a history dating back to 1398 .

As of December 2012, Samsung's net worth is estimated at over $200 billion, therefore making it the 15th-biggest company across the globe.

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