We followed the Malaysian media group to attend the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 in South Korea last week. In addition to attending the Unpacked event, we were also taken to the Samsung Digital City campus located in Suwon. Here is located the Samsung Innovation Museum (SIM) which houses Samsung's historic artifacts since they were established in 1938.
SIM is a museum located within a campus the size of five football fields and houses more than 36,000 Samsung employees. It is five stories high and it has an exhibition space for products as well as important dates in Samsung's history, important innovations in human history and a stage that shows Samsung's future vision.
On the first floor is placed the History Hall which shows the history of Samsung which was established in 1938 with the opening of shops selling dried fish, vegetables and noodles. In the same hall the origin of the company name Samseong is explained. It is a combination of "Sam" which means three and "Seong" which means star. The number three is considered lucky by Koreans just like the number eight is lucky for the Chinese. The star is a symbol of something that lasts forever.
Among the interesting artifacts in the History Hall are their first product a black and white TV in 1972, a laptop computer, a refrigerator, a washing machine and an audio system. Also visible are iterations of the logos they have used as well as some torches from some of the Olympic sports events sponsored by Samsung.
What we find interesting is that Samsung has been producing desktop computers, laptops and video cameras since the 1980s. Many may have the perception that this was done after the year 2000. For fans of TV technology, it is interesting to see the evolution of TV size. Four decades ago a 20-inch TV was considered big enough. Now a 55-inch TV is already considered quite small. Last year we had the opportunity to use the 146″ Samsung The Wall which was sold at a price of over RM1.23 million. What will the TV size innovation look like in the coming decades?
Next there is the Seeds of Innovation exhibition which touches on human inventions in electrical technology, lighting, telecommunications and home appliances. There is history about figures like Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday and Nicola Tesla. The presentation of information is unique because it uses a transparent touch screen. Information is displayed in front of the artifacts created by these figures. We've never seen transparent touchscreen technology used in a museum before.
In the Core of Innovation hall, there is an exhibition of television, semiconductor and mobile phone products that have been produced. The interesting artifact here is that the various types of televisions Samsung has ever produced can be seen under one roof. 3D, HD, 4K, curved, OLED, LED and classic TVs with wooden doors are on display.
One of the TVs in this room is one produced by Samsung through licensing with Sanyo. Many may not remember that once Sanyo was a very popular brand but now their products are almost extinct in the market.
A wall in this hall is dedicated to Samsung's mobile phone innovations. The two devices that caught our interest were the SPH-WP10 and the Matrix Phone. The SPH-WP10 is the first watch that can make phone calls like from the Dick Tracy comics. The Matrix Phone is a limited edition mobile phone produced specifically for the film Matrix Revolution in 2005. Only 5000 units were ever produced and sold to fans of this film.
In another room there is a screening of a short film about Samsung's vision of the future world. Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures in this exhibition space. There is another space for Samsung's latest products but we didn't visit it due to time constraints.
The Samsung Innovation Museum is open to the public free of charge, but those interested must request permission at least three days before going. Especially for technology enthusiasts