Ho-Am then took a tour of China and drew up plans for his next venture. Finally on March 1, 1938, he established Samsung Trading Company in Su-dong, Daegu and began trading business with China and Manchuria.
“Sam” is the pronunciation of the Chinese character for “three” and is favorite number among Koreans for its meaning of large, plentiful, and strong. “Sung” is the Korean pronunciation for the Chinese character meaning “star,” and carries the meaning of bright, lofty, and eternally shining. Ho-Am chose the name Samsung himself to represent his desire for a business that would be large, strong, and eternally shining. Ho-Am chose the name Samsung himself to represent his desire for a business that would be large, strong, and eternally shining. After starting operations, despite reservations from those around him, he stuck by his own business philosophy and chose an old friend from his days at Waseda University, Lee Sun-Geun, to manage operations.
The Samsung of today keeps these same principles of human resources management that it used from the very start. In addition to trade, Samsung Trading fortified operations with noodle production to rapidly increase growth. Soon Samsung Trading’s success led to the purchase of the Chosun Brewery in 1939. Established with only 30,000 Won, Samsung Trading had grown rapidly and stands even today as the cornerstone of the Samsung, one of the most dynamic global conglomerates today.
