You probably think of Samsung and picture gleaming skyscrapers in Seoul or high-tech labs in Suwon. It makes sense. That’s where the "Galaxy" magic happens now. But if you hopped in a time machine and went back to the very beginning, you wouldn't find a single microchip or smartphone. Not even a toaster.
Honestly, the real story of where was samsung founded is way more "farmers market" than "Silicon Valley."
It all started in a city called Daegu. Back in 1938, Korea was a very different place, living under Japanese colonial rule. A 28-year-old guy named Lee Byung-chul—who, by the way, was a college dropout from a wealthy landowning family—decided to roll the dice on a new venture. He didn't have a grand vision for world-dominating electronics. He just wanted to sell groceries.
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The Humble Shop in Su-dong
The actual birthplace wasn't a corporate campus. It was a small trading company called Samsung Sanghoe, located in the Su-dong neighborhood (now known as Ingyo-dong) of Daegu.
Imagine a dusty storefront with about forty employees. They weren't coding; they were hauling. They dealt in dried fish, locally grown vegetables, and fruit. But their "killer app"—the product that actually put them on the map—was noodles.
Lee even had his own brand called "Star Noodles."
Why "Samsung"? In Korean, Sam means three and Sung means stars. Lee picked it because he wanted the company to be powerful and everlasting, like stars in the sky. It sounds a bit poetic, maybe even cheesy for a guy selling dried fish, but hey, the name stuck.
Daegu: The Unlikely Launchpad
Why Daegu? At the time, it was a major inland hub. It sat right in the middle of a fertile agricultural region, making it the perfect spot to collect produce and ship it out. Lee wasn't just selling to the neighbors, either. He was exporting those noodles and dried fish all the way to Manchuria and other parts of China.
He started with a "nest egg" of 30,000 won. To put that in perspective, that was basically pocket change compared to the billions the company pulls in today, but for 1938, it was a solid start.
The company grew fast. By 1945, they were moving goods all over the country. But then things got messy.
The Great Relocation
In 1947, Lee moved the headquarters to Seoul. He wanted to be in the center of the action. But the timing was terrible. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he had to pack up everything and flee to Busan because Seoul was being overrun.
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Legend says he almost lost everything during the war. Soldiers and looters cleaned out his inventories. Most people would have quit. Instead, Lee pivoted. He started a sugar refinery in Busan called Cheil Jedang (which you might know today as the CJ Group). Then he went back to Daegu in 1954 to build the largest woolen mill in the country.
He was basically building the Korean economy brick by brick, but he still hadn't touched a circuit board.
The Suwon Pivot: Where Tech Was Born
If you're looking for the "Technology" answer to the question of where Samsung started, you have to look at Suwon.
The Samsung we recognize today—the one that makes your TV and your phone—didn't really exist until January 13, 1969. That’s when Samsung Electric Industries was formed.
They set up shop in Suwon, which is about 30 kilometers south of Seoul. It was a massive gamble. At the time, Samsung didn't know the first thing about electronics. They actually had to partner with Japanese companies like Sanyo and NEC just to learn how to put a television together.
Their first product? A 12-inch black-and-white TV (model P-3202). It wasn't exactly a masterpiece, but it sold.
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What Most People Get Wrong
There is a common misconception that Samsung was always this high-tech giant that just "appeared" in Seoul.
- The "Seoul" Myth: While Seoul is the heart of the "Samsung Town" headquarters now, the company's soul and its first profits were forged in the markets of Daegu.
- The "Tech-First" Fallacy: Samsung was a textile and food company for thirty years before they ever made a television. They were "Big Flour" before they were "Big Tech."
- The "Government Funded" Idea: While the South Korean government later helped chaebols (large conglomerates) grow, Lee Byung-chul started Samsung with his own family's money and a lot of grit during a time of foreign occupation.
Why Daegu Still Matters
If you visit Daegu today, you can actually see a memorial and a statue of Lee Byung-chul near the site of the original office. The city is proud of being the place where was samsung founded, even if the company's main operations have long since moved north.
It serves as a reminder that even the biggest empires usually start with something incredibly simple. In this case, it was a truck full of noodles.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
- Visit the Roots: If you’re ever in South Korea, take the KTX to Daegu. You can visit the Ho-Am Old House (the founder’s birthplace) and the site of the original Samsung Sanghoe.
- Study the Pivot: Business owners should look at Samsung’s 1969 pivot. They didn't just "try" electronics; they created four separate divisions simultaneously to ensure they owned the entire supply chain.
- The "Three Stars" Philosophy: If you're naming a brand, think like Lee. He chose a name that represented "large, many, and powerful" before he even had 50 employees.
Samsung didn't become a giant because they were lucky with phones. They became a giant because they spent decades learning how to move physical goods, manage people, and survive wars in the streets of Daegu long before the first pixel ever flickered on a screen.