Samsung is synonymous with cell phones, televisions, and other household appliances. Since its first electronic product, a black and white television , was launched on the market in 1970, this South Korean giant has managed to grow to be one of the most important companies in the world. According to Wikipedia, only its electronics division ranks 19, the first in South Korea. But Samsung's products go far beyond technology and it has unknown businesses outside its borders .
In 2017, CNN claimed that Samsung accounted for 15% of South Korea's GDP . And looking at its stock market, 20% consisted of Samsung subsidiaries. The reason is that the relationship between Samsung and South Korea is closer than we know. To the point that it builds ships, facilities to exploit gas and oil , manages life insurance, builds skyscrapers , designs fashion, sponsors sports teams and even owns of an amusement park.
Let's see five good examples of how big Samsung is and how it has become a giant not only of electronics but of any product or business you can imagine with unknown businesses outside the Korean borders . All this organized in an amalgam of subsidiaries that are not always easy to follow due to their sales, acquisitions, mergers and name changes.
Samsung ships?
Samsung Heavy Industries (Samsung Heavy Industries) was the second largest shipbuilder worldwide in 2010. In 2016, it ranked number 7, according to profits. In the first positions, two Chinese companies, one Japanese and three Korean.
Founded in 1974, this billion-dollar subsidiary of Samsung is not known outside its borders unless you work in the sector or are interested in the subject. Shipbuilding is not a topic that is talked about much unless a large ship collapses the Suez Canal.
The fact is that Samsung has a company dedicated to the manufacture of boats along with other large companies from South Korea such as Hyundai and Daewoo , also known for their electronic products. For its part, Samsung has created more than 1,000 units and has almost 10,000 employees distributed between its shipyards and its two research and development centers. In the shipyards, located in Geoje, it has 3 dry docks and 5 floating docks.
Among its latest milestones, at the end of 2020 they completed the first operational test of the Samsung T-8, a autonomous boat by remote control. For the rest, they have built freight ships, pleasure cruises and even pretoliferous platforms.
You will find more information about this Samsung subsidiary on its official page, available in English. And if you want, you can visit their shipyards virtually. Yes, in Korean. And if you visit Geoje to see the Samsung shipyards, you can stay at the Samsung Hotel Geoje .
Megaconstrucciones
Four large buildings in which Samsung has a stake: the Incheon Grand Brigde in South Korea, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, the LNG regasification terminal in Singapore and the Raemian Celitus skyscraper complex in South Korea. But among Samsung's products and more unknown businesses we not only find gigantic ships. Through two of its subsidiaries, Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T Corporation , the Korean giant builds all kinds of buildings and facilities that could well appear in those television programs dedicated to mega-constructions.
Samsung Engineering was founded in 1970 and may not be very well known in Spain or Europe, but it is in countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, India, Thailand or Mexico. Countries in which this company has built facilities for the management and transportation of gas and oil as well as for the treatment of air and water , recycling or desalination of the water. In 2018 it had more than 5,500 employees.
In fact, what we now call Samsung Engineering was created by the South Korean government under the name Korea Engineering in 1970. And the Samsung group acquired it in 1978, changing the name in 1991. In its first decades of life it was dedicated to mega-constructions within Korea. And since 1993 he began to receive contracts in other countries.
For its part, Samsung C&T Corporation was born in 1938 to manage sales outside the Korean borders. Over time it has become a construction and civil engineering giant , with more than 17,000 employees and billion-dollar profits .
Of this company, the construction of the second tower of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai stand out. It has also built airports, tunnels, roads, bridges, seaports, subways, and even power plants. Under the orders of this company there are two curious businesses that we will talk about later: textile fashion and recreational facilities .
Insurance
In Samsung's product catalog, there are not only tangibles. We also find unknown businesses for many that have to do with other sectors such as insurance. This is what the Samsung subsidiary called Samsung Life or Samsung Life Insurance is dedicated to.
With more than 6,000 employees, and founded in 1957, last year it had a profit of almost 35 billion South Korean won. Approximately 259 million euros. It is the most important insurance company in South Korea with more than 12 million clients both in Korea and in Japan, Thailand and China.
Life insurance, health insurance , death insurance, retirement insurance, savings insurance or annuity , are just some of the products offered by Samsung Life to your customers.
Samsung brand clothing
Home of the Samsung Fashion online store. Available in English, Chinese and Korean Among the basic needs of human beings, food and clothing stand out. Dressing is important to protect ourselves from the weather , among other things. Well, Samsung also has businesses unknown to many in the textile sector.
Today, Samsung is involved in the fashion business through its subsidiary Samsung C&T, which we discussed earlier. It manufactures clothing for men and women, sportswear and different styles under different brands . Of course, before, Samsung operated in the textile sector through the brand Cheil Industries , which merged with Samsung C&T in 2015. Founded in 1954, it started as a textile company but eventually entered in other markets such as chemical and electronic products.
On the official page of Samsung's fashion division, available in English, you can check all its brands in the Brand section. It is likely that you do not know any of them, since they operate mainly in Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam . However, they are also based in New York, Milan and Paris.
An amusement park
Everyone likes to have fun. Samsung knows it. And that is why, among its unknown businesses, it has an amusement park, a luxury golf course and residential complexes where you can rest with all the luxury of services.
Two are the jewels of the Resort division of Samsung C&T . Samsung products that are actually facilities where you can have fun all day. This subsidiary company covers much of Samsung's unknown businesses inside and outside of South Korea. And under the name of Resort Group we find two amusement parks: Everland and Caribbean Bay.
Everland is the largest theme park in South Korea. Opened in 1976, it has almost 6 million visitors a year. And among its attractions are its five roller coasters . In 2018 it was the 19th amusement park in the world by number of visitors.
According to its official page, in this park we find festivals throughout the year with special events. For adventurers, 40 attractions for all tastes and ages, beyond roller coasters. There are also live shows and a zoo with 2,000 animals of 200 different species. And if you are more of the plant kingdom than the animal, there is also an area with trees, flowers and gardens with 40 years behind it.
For its part, Caribbean Bay is a water park with attractions as popular as Mega Storm, a 355-meter complex where you can reach speeds of 50 kilometers per hour. Opened in 1996, it covers an area of 200 square kilometers. Technically it is part of the complex Everland but has a separate entrance.
In addition, Samsung has been present in some way in recreational projects inside and outside South Korea: Seoul, Paris, Berlin, Cairo… It also contributed to the State of the Sangam-dong Soccer World Cup. On the other hand, they offer design and construction services for residential complexes and facilities such as hotels, golf courses , commercial complexes, industrial offices and all kinds of facilities that integrate nature as one more element.
Golf is also one of the pillars of the Samsung Resort area. According to their official page, they have five golf clubs of great prestige, all five in South Korea. Four of them are private and one public.
