Each video in the series, listed below, tells the story of how an innovative 19th or 20th century invention helped drive the development of science and technology, and how the invention itself became an important part of our daily lives.

1. Samuel Morse and the Network

The first episode in the series discusses how Samuel Morse’s development of the telegraph laid the groundwork for the eventual introduction of the 5G networks that we rely on today.

2. John Baird and the TV

The second episode chronicles how John Baird’s invention of the first mechanical TV, which he called a “televisor”, enabled the rapid exchange of information, enhancing people’s daily lives.

3. Alexander Bell and the Telephone

The third episode highlights the ins and outs of Bell’s telephone, and discusses how telecommunications technology has enabled people to conveniently communicate with one another over long distances.

4. James Harrison and the Refrigerator

The fourth episode examines Australian compositor James Harrison’s invention, an ether-based vapor compression refrigeration system, and the incredible impact that refrigerators have had on the global wholesale industry.

5. William Shockley and the Semiconductor

The final episode reveals how three scientists’ inventions of the semiconductor transistor led to the development of integrated circuits (IC) that enabled electronic devices to become smaller and more commercially available.

You can learn more about these and other game-changing innovations by visiting Samsung Newsroom’s YouTube channel and the Samsung Innovation Museum’s website.

The newly released series of animated videos is called ‘The History of the Electronics Industry that Changed the World’. It explores the inventions from the 19th and 20th centuries that came to lay the foundation for the innovations that have now become essential parts of our lives.

The first episode, “Samuel Morse and the Network”, demonstrates how networks have developed over the years. This video invites viewers on a remarkable journey that takes them all the way from an early form of communication that used dots and dashes to today’s 5G network.

Following this first episode, four subsequent videos will be released one at a time. Those episodes will be called: ‘John Baird and the TV’, ‘Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone’, ‘James Harrison and the Refrigerator’ and ‘William Shockley and the Semiconductor’.

Check out the video below to learn how networks have evolved over the years.

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic which has prevented interested visitors from visiting the museum offline, S/I/M has been running a variety of online programs, including virtual exhibition tours and content specifically for younger people.

Online Dream TALKTALK: Providing Education on the Electronics Industry to All

S/I/M’s Dream TALKTALK, an educational program for young people in Korea that had previously operated offline prior to the global pandemic, is being held online from June to December of this year. Available on every second and fourth Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,¹ the Online Dream TALKTALK program lets students participate in lectures held on the history of the electronics industry, science and technology.

Furthermore, the program offers online mentorship sessions with 30 Samsung employees for young people interested in the industry to learn more about it directly from those who work in it. Online Dream TALKTALK employs a ‘metaverse’ approach to engagement, allowing students to revise the things they learn through the lectures and workshops with True or False games and other experiences.

This March, S/I/M also opened an ‘Online Youth IT Workshop’, along with a variety of other unique online programs.

Docent LIVE: Getting to Know S/I/M Virtually

Since April, S/I/M has been operating its online tour program ‘Docent LIVE’ to allow visitors to experience the museum’s various exhibitions and halls virtually.

Participants in the tour program can enjoy tours under three themes. The Hall 1 tour presents the history of the electronics industry from the 18^th through to the 20^th centuries, while Hall 2 demonstrates the history of the semiconductor, display and mobile device, and Hall 3 showcases the history of Samsung’s development and guiding philosophies.

The Docent LIVE online tour program is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,² and those interested in taking part can make a reservation on S/I/M’s webpage. Both individual and group tours are available in English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese or Spanish.

Stay tuned to S/I/M to keep up to date about the innovative ways Samsung are bringing education about the electronics industry and the key role it plays in society to people all over the world.

¹ Korean Standard Time (KST).
² Korean Standard Time (KST).

Starting last September, S/I/M began releasing a series of online tour videos covering the innovation stories of inventors from the 18^th to 20^th centuries, as well as innovations in the semiconductor, display and mobile industries. The two new videos present the Samsung innovations that have led to the company developing to its current point of global prominence.

The first video explores Samsung Electronics’ first historic steps towards becoming a global electronics leader, as well as its early products, which include the first in-house-developed, black-and-white CRT TV, Korea’s first microwave oven, and Korea’s first multipurpose refrigerator. The video also presents Samsung’s revolutionary 64K DRAM and the PersCom Computer.

The second video highlights the period from the 1990s to the 2000s, when Samsung Electronics truly rose to global prominence.

Samsung introduced Anycall mobile phone, Myoungpum Plus One TV and the company’s Zipel side-by-side refrigerator in Korean market. The products contributed to Samsung Electronics eventually becoming a brand that is respected all across the world.

S/I/M’s ‘The History of Samsung Electronics’ online tour videos demonstrate the challenges the company has faced on the way to its long list of notable achievements. Check out the videos to discover more about the past, present, and future of Samsung Electronics as the company heads towards its 100^th year of innovating for excellence.

The mobile phone is a product now essential to our daily lives that allows us to communicate anytime, anywhere, and these latest tour videos demonstrate the development of mobile technologies and products as well as wireless communications.

The first video in the Mobile series introduces the first step towards modern wireless communications, the surmounting of wireline communications’ boundaries. The video covers the world’s first voice information transmission using radio waves, the first two-way wireless communication and the automatic switching system.

Following the advent of wireless communications, wireless communications equipment was first applied to those areas that stood to benefit the most from the ability to communicate quickly in rapidly changing situations. Radio communications equipment was installed in police cars, while walkie-talkies and other handicrafts were developed for military operations. Since the initial development of such technologies, the interest of the general public in personal mobile phones has increased alongside the commercialization of the automatic switching system.

The second video covers the beginning of the personal mobile phone era, wherein people were able to make calls anytime, anywhere. As cellular network technology developed, the efficiency of the communication network improved, and digital cellular systems and 3G mobile communication technologies later led to the beginning of the era of mobile phones with Internet access.

This video also highlights the technological innovation of several mobile phones that achieved the title of ‘world’s first’, from the world’s first smartphone to the world’s first CDMA phone to feature a built-in camera.

The final video of the Mobiles series showcases the innovation of modern mobile products that provide users with a diverse range of functionalities as well as reliable performance and cutting-edge design. Viewers can learn about Samsung’s constant pursuit of innovation in the development of their mobile devices, as well as how the future of the smart mobile phone era promises the emergence of mobile devices capable of responding to human expression.

Among the Samsung innovations featured are the company’s first color display phone, the origins story of its ‘Benz phone’ and some of its very latest mobile phones, Galaxy Z Fold2 and Galaxy Note20 & Note20 Ultra.

S/I/M’s Mobile exhibit showcases to viewers the true innovation the development of the mobile phone has been, along with many of the ways that mobile phones have enriched all aspects of our daily lives.

This series of Mobile videos concludes the museum’s virtual tour through its second hall, “The Era of Corporate Innovation”, and interested viewers should stay tuned as S/I/M will continue to produce accessible content and learning materials for people in accordance with the unprecedented circumstances currently faced the world over.

These latest videos recount the history of the display, an electronic product that transformed the world upon its introduction and has seen rapid development in recent times. Through the course of the three videos, divided up by era, viewers can learn about the TV, an iconic representative of the display.

The first video in the series introduces the black-and-white TV, a product that opened up a whole new era of popular culture. The video covers the world’s first black-and-white TV, the Televisor, as well as the first portable TV that used transistors and the first black-and-white TV produced by Samsung Electronics.

The second video covers the introduction of color TVs and flat displays, two innovations that transformed both user’s viewing experiences as well as the way displays existed within their space. The advent of color TVs and flat screens heralded the beginning of home entertainment, as well as the evolution of TVs to becoming an interior design element.

The last video in the Display series showcases the cutting-edge TVs of the latest TVs, as well as smart TVs. In this video, viewers can learn how Samsung’s TV products, packed with innovative technologies and providing unique user experiences, are today being used across various different fields.

In “The Era of Corporate Innovation”, the importance of displays cannot be understated – the commonplace introduction of displays brought about revolutionary viewing experiences and also led to the popularization of information. As the Display video series showcases, the future of the ever-evolving display remains bright.

Following the release of these three Display videos, the next installment of S/I/M’s three-video series under the theme of ‘Mobile’ is set to be released in the near future.

The videos corresponding to “The Era of Corporate Innovation” explore the achievements of corporations that have contributed to the improvement of human life by developing innovative products and technologies. Following the release of the ‘Semiconductor’ videos, other video series will be released under the headings ‘Display’ and ‘Mobile’.

Within each category, a sub-series of short videos presenting interesting stories corresponding to the respective themes will be released. The three semiconductor videos tell the story of both the origin of and the future outlook for the semiconductor industry, walking viewers through the birth of the semiconductor and how semiconductor solutions have been integrated to improve data processing performance over the years.

The first semiconductor video, entitled “More, Faster, and Smaller, The Acceleration of Data Processing”, shows how the innovation of the transistor liberated electronics from their reliance on large, heavy vacuum tubes and sparked the era of miniaturization in electronic devices. The video depicts the socio-cultural changes and technological advances that were brought about by the advent of transistors.

The second video covers how the development of integrated circuits has allowed electronic device performance to be advanced while also allowing the products to be downsized without affecting performance levels. The use of IC chips eventually influenced the development and distribution of PCs, and once computers were introduced in business environments the technology led to immense improvements in business performance.

In the last video of the semiconductor series, we explore the Samsung Semiconductor, which has been a leader in the mobile era, as well as the topic of how semiconductors will enrich our lives in the future. Today, semiconductors are continuing to evolve in order to lead the future of the industry and enable users to live richer lives.

Following the release of the three semiconductor videos, individual videos from S/I/M’s three-video series entitled ‘Display’ and ‘Mobile’ will be released on a sequential basis starting from December 8.

“The Era of Inventors” tour series is comprised of four videos that cover the different topics, all relating to how innovation in the electronics industry has reshaped human history, that are showcased in the exhibition. The first video, “Discovery of Electricity”, takes us back in time to the origins of the electronics industry, and the second, “Uses of Electricity”, outlines the ways in which electricity evolved to be used practically to enrich people’s lives.

The third video, “History of Telecommunication”, covers how telecommunication innovations have allowed us to communicate without boundaries, and the fourth video, “History of Home Appliances” captures the development of those domestic appliances that now allow us to keep our homes clean and healthy.

Given S/I/M’s temporary on-site closure due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, viewers have been expressing their gratitude for the online videos as they look to learn more about the electronics and telecommunications industries. “I was able to strengthen my knowledge on the origins of electricity thanks to the detailed explanations and well-organized video clips provided in the virtual tour,” noted one viewer. “I can now say I understand more fully the electricity industry’s role in and contributions to modern society.”

S/I/M will continue to release more online tour videos for interested viewers – a virtual tour of another of S/I/M’s permanent exhibitions, “The Era of Corporate Innovation”, will be released before the end of the year.

All four virtual tour videos of “The Era of Inventors” are still available to watch on the Samsung Innovation Museum website and the Samsung Newsroom YouTube channel.

S/I/M is the largest electronics industry museum in Korea and displays exhibitions that aim to portray the history of the electronics industry and the early scientists and corporations that contributed to its advancement. The museum also looks to introduce Samsung’s legacy of innovation in the sector, outlining how the company built on the work of its predecessors to help the electronics industry move forward.

Being made available online, the videos will outline how innovation in the electronics industry has changed the way we live our lives and reshaped the development of human civilization.

The first video, “Discovery of Electricity”, probes back through human history to tell the story of the first document ever written about electricity. Penned in 600 B.C., this record marks the inception of what would eventually develop into the modern electronics industry. The video also details the development of the early electrical storage device, the Leyden Jar.

To see all this and more, check out S/I/M’s first video, “Discovery of Electricity”, below.

For the past year, the Samsung Innovation Museum (S/I/M), the largest museum of its kind, has been honoring the history of consumer electronics around the world. Now S/I/M is celebrating its first anniversary with a special exhibition showcasing the numerous contributions made by Samsung engineers, as they developed many of the innovative technologies that shaped modern life.

S/I/M is generating even greater attention with its own short film that shows a futuristic lifestyle featuring 22 next generation technologies on a huge 22mx4m curved screen in the museum theater.

In doing so, S/I/M is presenting a full picture to its visitors by displaying electronic technology innovations of the past in a broader scope, showing both the cutting edge devices of today and the smart lifestyles of the future.

Special Exhibition: Tracing the Innovations of Engineers

The anniversary exhibition, which runs until June 19, has its own special space. It presents every single innovation by Samsung engineers since the company was founded in 1969.

Visitors can learn the individual stories about how Samsung’s engineers came up with some of the company’s biggest innovations, as the company became a world-class semiconductor brand. Most notably, there was the development of Samsung’s first 64K D-RAM in 1983, and the world’s first 64M D-RAM in 1992. The exhibition includes a handwritten D-RAM development report by Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics in 1988.

In 1998, the Asian Financial Crisis took a heavy toll on Korea’s economy. At the time, a Samsung developer hid a little message of faith on the circuit board of SCH-800, which was world’s first LCD screen phone: “We believe we can do it.” It was a challenge to the developers and a symbol of their passion. Today, this circuit board is one of the many items on display at the special exhibition.

Visitors can also look into the early-stages of development of products such as TVs, home appliances, as well as products related to the telecommunication sectors. These show the efforts developers made in pursuit of innovation.

A Glimpse at the Future

In addition, Samsung recently filmed a short video that shows 22 next-generation technologies that may soon transform our world.

In this video, viewers can see how an augmented reality display might work when integrated into a contact lens, providing real-time information about landmarks, weather, road conditions and more. There is also a mixed reality technology, which makes it possible for two people in distant locations to meet virtually as if they are in the same room. Other technologies imagined by Samsung engineers include drones acting as a personal secretaries or butlers, and displays controlled by the power of thought, using cognitive interface technology.

A History of Innovation

All this sits alongside S/I/M’s permanent exhibition of nearly 230 historical artifacts, starting with the earliest electrical creations of Michael Faraday, Thomas Edison and Graham Bell.

S/I/M can be found in Samsung Digital City, Suwon, just a short drive south of the Korean capital, Seoul. A visit to the museum is a great reminder of the many technologies that were once cutting-edge in the history of electronics, and how innovation has transformed our lives.

Over the past 12 months, around 66,000 people have visited the museum, including world political leaders and CEOs of many technology companies.

Visiting the S/I/M is free of charge. Visitors need to make a reservation in advance on www.samsunginnovationmuseum.com, except on Saturdays, when reservations are not required.

See More: Grand Opening of Samsung Innovation Museum Showcases the History and Future