We are living through a defining moment in history. Technology has become a central force in our daily lives like never before, and the pace of innovation and change is truly extraordinary. In this rapidly evolving world, the human element — our thoughts, emotions, aspirations and needs — matters more than ever. Even as technology takes the lead, we believe our greatest strength lies in empathy and care.

As designers, our mission goes beyond creating innovative products. We aim to elevate people’s lives — to design tools and experiences that help them live better, longer and more meaningfully, by taming technology in service of humanity.

Samsung Electronics is a worldwide leader in tech and already plays an essential role in the lives of billions around the globe. Through our products, we help you clean your home, wash your clothes and dishes, preserve your food, store your memories, stay entertained, stay connected and express yourself — whether at home, on the move or in public spaces. This reach is both a tremendous privilege and, in the age of AI and accelerated technological change, an incredible opportunity and an immense responsibility.

That sense of purpose is what inspired me to join Samsung this year, after more than two decades as a designer and business leader across industries and cultures. I was drawn by the possibility to help reimagine the relationship between people and technology — putting humans at the heart of our product universe, to create a world where innovation truly supports and enhances our lives, unlocking, amplifying and elevating the human side of technology.

Rewriting the Code of a Design-Driven Company

To me, design is far more than a product or a user interface. It’s more than the interplay of form and function. I like to define design as the art of dreaming, crafting and taking to life distinctive solutions, meaningful experiences and authentic stories that deeply resonate with people’s needs and aspirations. In this sense, form and function follow meaning. Design becomes a force for purposeful innovation — one that begins and ends with people.

Across Samsung’s product portfolio, design serves as a language — one that understands people and interprets the complexity of the world around us. It has the power to humanize technology, transforming algorithms into emotion, features into feelings. In a time of accelerating complexity, design is how we restore clarity and foster deeper connections — with ourselves, our cultures and our lives.

Samsung’s commitment to design thinking dates back to 1996, when it declared the “Year of Design Revolution.” That year marked a turning point, with design officially recognized as a core strategic asset. With a “human-centered design philosophy” at its heart, Samsung laid the foundation for a design ethos that continues to evolve and grow.

Now, in the era of AI, our challenge is to build upon that legacy — to amplify its intent, refine its spirit and redefine what design means in a new cultural and technological landscape. Products can be copied, but a design philosophy — its purpose and point of view — cannot be replicated. This is why culture matters. For individuals and for organizations alike, consistency, authentic creativity and genuine care at every touchpoint are what set great companies apart.

A New Challenge to Everyday Innovation

Today, Samsung innovations are already transforming everyday life. Robot vacuum cleaners quietly maintain our homes. Smartwatches provide real-time insights into our health. Intelligent appliances, from washing machines to dishwashers, offer greater efficiency, performance and ease of use. Smart refrigerators adapt to our habits to keep food fresher for longer. Our screens deliver breathtaking visuals, our audio systems fill rooms with immersive soundscapes, and our smartphones, tablets and wearables keep us connected through intuitive design and purposeful features.

All of this is remarkable. Yet, the real frontier lies in something greater: the seamless integration of all these devices into a coherent, human-centered journey. We’re not just designing individual products — we’re designing an ecosystem of experiences. We’re redefining what “smart” really means by infusing technology with empathy, meaning and emotional resonance.

Samsung’s design now goes beyond the object. It places thoughtful connections, insightful information, and intentional emotions at the center. Through a cohesive design experience across our entire ecosystem — from mobile to TV to home appliances — we’re committed to enriching every interaction.

Our vision is a future where design brings warmth to innovation, and where technology helps us not only do more — but live longer, live better, and live more connected, and more meaningfully, creating an empathetic layer between people and their environments. This personal field of emotionally attuned, physiologically aware, and ethically governed technologies interconnects to form constellations of care — enabling shared rhythms and deeper connection across the home, family and community.

The Future Is Emotional, Meaningful, Connected Intelligence

The next frontier of smart technology must offer more than just functionality. With Samsung’s advancements in AI, empowered by hardware and software, we are unlocking a new dimension of emotional intelligence — where technology doesn’t just work for us, but resonates with us.

What excites me most about AI in product design is how it enables us to listen, learn and craft experiences that feel deeply personal. As intelligence becomes ambient — woven seamlessly into our everyday devices — design takes on a greater responsibility: to ensure that intelligence feels warm, human and caring. We’re shifting from devices that demand our attention to those that pay attention, anticipating needs, adapting preferences and forming meaningful relationships with users.

We’re envisioning an ecosystem where intelligence isn’t confined to one device, but exists around you — quiet, empathetic, always present when needed, and gracefully invisible when not. Samsung’s holistic approach to AI spans across the entire ecosystem — from smartphones to TVs, wearables to home appliances — transforming each product into a thoughtful companion in your daily life.

Imagine a TV that mirrors your mood. A refrigerator that understands your dietary goals. A watch or ring that knows when you need rest, and gently guides you toward better mental and physical wellbeing. This is not just innovation — it’s a design philosophy where intelligence surrounds you, senses you, learns from you and ultimately adapts to serve you better. Each product becomes part of a larger, unified story, grounded in empathy, awareness and care.

Design as a Force for Meaning — And for a Better Tomorrow

Technology will always continue to evolve. But what truly matters is the meaning it brings — to individuals and to society. At Samsung, we innovate not just because we can, but because we care. It starts with a sincere commitment to people and a deep sense of responsibility for the impact we create.

What has always inspired me about Samsung is its belief in openness — not just as a platform strategy, but as a cultural principle. Openness to collaboration. Openness to bold, unconventional ideas. Openness to meeting people where they are. This spirit of openness removes barriers, fuels connection and sets the stage for truly meaningful innovation.

These are the values that have shaped my career and the principles I believe will drive our industry forward. They reflect a shared mission: to build technology that enriches human life, with empathy at its core.

Through our love for humanity and our clear vision for the future, we invite you to join us on this journey — one shaped by Samsung Design, and guided by purpose, care and imagination.

It is well known that it is dangerous to operate a smartphone while driving. However, research shows that two thirds of the Dutch feel pressured to respond immediately to messages – even when behind the wheel – and more than 70% of the people aged between 15 and 24 still call or send messages with their phones while in traffic, a quarter check their social media feed and almost one in five reply to a message while they drive.

In-Traffic Reply detects when you are behind the wheel or on your bike and automatically answers all incoming messages with your pre-determined personalized message while you’re driving. More than 100,000 Dutch people already have In-Traffic Reply on their phone. The focus, this year, is to encourage more people to actively use the solution.

Samsung Electronics, the Dutch government and other partners including ANWB, Veilig Verkeer Nederland and Fietsersbond will continue to support the MONO campaign to raise awareness and promote action against smartphone use while driving.

Among them is a group of students at the 13^th Primary School attended by both local Greek children as well as approximately 30 refugee boys and girls. Through the students’ creation of an app, they are learning to better engage with one another, despite language barriers.

Breaking Barriers Through Technology

Since 2015, immigration influx towards European countries, especially arrivals of refugees by sea to the borders of Greece, was increased dramatically mainly due to the ongoing Syrian Civil War. There were more than 856,000 arrivals by sea in Greece, an almost fivefold increase to the same period of 2014^*. An estimated 8% of the arrivals applied for asylum in Greece, with others hoping to find asylum in Northern European countries. Refugees’ children go to public schools and try to learn the Greek language.

Knowing that these children might feel isolated in a place where they cannot speak the local language, the students of the 13^th Primary School of Serres decided to keep their refugee classmates in mind when it came time to create their project for a coding competition hosted by Samsung Electronics Hellas and the British Council.

Using the tools of their school’s Smart Classroom, the students incorporated Kurdish and Arabic translation features to ”Help Friend”, an app that they developed to help assess students’ emotions and improve communication between students and educators. In doing so, the children aimed to promote inclusivity among the student body, and help non-Greek students feel closer and more connected to their classmates.

For their efforts, the participating students were awarded first place in the competition. But more importantly, they were empowered by being able to use their imagination and creativity to make positive contributions to their school and address issues that they had directly encountered.

Nurturing the Minds of Today’s Youth for a Better Tomorrow

Working with local governments, members of academic community and non-profit organizations around the globe, Samsung has established numerous programs – like the Smart Classrooms and the Coding Competition in Greece – designed to equip the world’s youth with the knowledge and skills they need to advance personally and professionally.

From establishing Digital classrooms in rural communities to engaging students in hands-on STEAM learning, Samsung hopes to enable every member of the global community to reach their full potential and take the initiative to pioneer innovations that will help solve the social issues of today and tomorrow.

To learn more about the students of the 13^th Primary School of Serres and their efforts to create a more inclusive school environment through technology, watch the video below.

So far, the initiative has supported over 3,000 schools that have allowed well over 1.4 million bright young minds to learn in more fun and interactive environments. As is the case with Samsung’s Tech Institutes and other education-enriching initiatives, the ultimate goal of the Smart School program is to level the playing field to help students in these communities thrive in the digital era.

Accessible Education for All

According to the 2016 UN Sustainable Development Goals report, some 124 million children and teenagers worldwide were unable to receive a proper education due to financial costs and lack of accessibility in 2013, the latest year for which data are available. Because education is a major determinant of one’s quality of life, not to mention the general well-being of a community, Samsung has made an effort to improve access to education through its Smart School initiatives.

For example, Samsung’s African Regional Head Office has jointly operated solar-powered internet schools throughout Africa in cooperation with the Korea Education & Research Information Service (KERIS) under the Korean Ministry of Education since 2011. Equipped with Samsung’s tablets, PCs,  and other devices, the schools motivate students through captivating lessons taught by local, KERIS-trained teachers. Similarly, Smart School’s Engineering Academy in Nairobi provides tailored curriculum for those pursuing careers in engineering.

Today, 78 Smart Schools are operated in 10 African nations including Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.

Meanwhile, in Taiwan, an estimated 500 children are diagnosed with cancer and hospitalized for months of arduous treatment. Because such medical difficulties often make it impossible for them to attend school with their peers, in January, Samsung Electronics Taiwan (SET) partnered with Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital to open the very first hospital-based Smart School.

Designed to create a motivating learning environment, the Smart School features TVs and tablets pre-installed with educational apps that allow children to learn in fun and engaging ways. In this way, hospitalized children are able to regain a sense of normalcy without falling behind in their studies.

Empowering Young Women Through Digital Education

Despite the fact that many countries throughout the world have worked to close gender gaps in education and labor force participation, many gender differences still persist. Women, for example, are less likely to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – areas collectively known as STEM.

Recognizing this, Samsung established the Smart School’s Female Academy Program in Ghana. Here, women attend a series of training sessions facilitated by knowledgeable field experts. Through their education, the female participants are equipped with the tools they need to pursue STEM fields.

Likewise, Samsung’s North American Regional Head Office, in collaboration with Discovery Education, an NGO dedicated to coding education, offers an extra-curricular program to fourth and fifth grade girls. Offering a wide range of hands-on computer programming and electronic training activities, emPOWER Tomorrow helps girls develop an interest in science, technology, and coding. Furthermore, they are given the opportunity to meet with Samsung’s female scientists and engineers to explore future career options.

Enriching the Learning Experience

Perhaps no other learning tool is more effective than technology. With classroom technology, educators can get more students engaged, improve collaboration, and most importantly make learning fun.

For instance, when Samsung launched its Digital Classroom program to address digital skills gaps in the UK in 2013, it outfitted a total of 15 digital classrooms with a complete suite of educational tools including tablets, laptops, and an interactive whiteboard. Samsung’s research findings that were announced last September underlined the great strides that the students made in developing digital skills, and showed that, overall, those who took part demonstrated much greater confidence and teamwork.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria earlier this year, Samsung Bulgaria and Junior Achievement Bulgaria partnered with the State Archives to digitize some 22,000 valuable historical documents as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the country’s national heritage. The three-way partnership resulted in the nation’s first fully digitized lessons in history, literature and the arts, which will allow students in Smart Schools and in classrooms across the country to study and experience new facets of their country’s rich history.

Across the world, Samsung Electronics Taiwan established yet another first-of-its-kind Smart School – one that allowed students at three different schools in various corners of the country to simultaneously tour Taiwan’s Museum of Contemporary Art. In the ‘co-learning connected course,’ one school served as host, livestreaming a tour of the museum using Samsung’s Gear 360 and Galaxy S8, while the others followed along remotely from their classrooms. After the tour, the schools competed against one another in a fun pop quiz utilizing Samsung tablets.

By establishing more Smart Schools in different corners of the world, Samsung aspires to arm the next generation with the tools they’ll need to better connect with one another, quench their thirst for knowledge, and ultimately conquer the challenges of tomorrow.

For example, programs conducted in developing markets might offer training for customer service engineers, while those in more economically developed countries are designed to support software experts. Young people who have participated in Samsung’s Tech Institutes have not only had better employment opportunities, but are also now contributing to the development of their own regional communities.

Learn more about some of the most recent initiatives of the Samsung Tech Institute that are being carried out in various corners of the world.

Bulgaria: Developing for a Difference

Samsung Bulgaria and the Listen Up Foundation, an organization that works to provide equal access for hearing-impaired people in Bulgaria, teamed up to develop an innovative speech-to-text transformation mobile application. Top students at the Samsung Tech Institute in Bulgaria participated in a mentorship program, which they had the opportunity to work with a team of professional developers.

Since its launch, the app has helped some 8,000 hearing impaired students gain access to once-inaccessible educational resources, demonstrating the impact the Samsung Tech Institute students have made on their community.

Ghana: Empowering Women to Thrive in the Industry

Samsung Ghana, in partnership with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), launched a program that offers technical vocational training to women in Ghana in an effort to increase the number of the country’s female electronic maintenance technicians.

The Female Engineering Academy, which operates at four vocational training centers across the country, aims to certify 120 female electronic maintenance technicians per year through competency based training. Samsung’s technical experts also provide direct support in line with the curriculum. Trainees have the opportunity to intern at Samsung, and graduates are offered assistance in starting their own business.

Greece: Encouraging Innovation in Education

As Strategic Partner of InnovAthens, Samsung Electronics Hellas has played a very important role in its establishment as a hub of innovation, where young entrepreneurs and creatives can network and exchange ideas with industry veterans to help develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Athens and beyond.

Samsung contributes to this project by delivering a series of training courses including the Mobile Service Lab to help ready youth for employment. A number of participants who have taken part in these initiatives have gone on to secure jobs in related fields.

Additionally, the company, in collaboration with the Athens University of Economics and Business, also organizes the mini MBA program “Innovation and Design Thinking in Mobile Applications and Services” to help foster students’ interests and nurture their skills in the areas of creating new services and promoting entrepreneurship in the mobile sector.

For its contributions, ‘InnovAthens Powered by Samsung’ received the Bravo Market award at the 2017 Bravo Sustainability Awards, and was the only awarded tech institute that received the distinction for the second consecutive year.

India: Educational Opportunity for All    

Earlier this month, Samsung India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) for its Samsung Technical School initiative, renewing its partnership for the existing and new MSME-Samsung Technical Schools currently operated across the country.

Addressing the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience, these schools have so far trained over 2,000 youth, equipping them with the tools necessary to enter the workforce across different technical trades. Around 70 percent of these students have been employed in related fields, with 45 percent of them landing jobs at Samsung service centers.

Reinforcing its commitment to the government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, which addresses the nation’s declining child sex ratio (CSR) and related issues of women empowerment, Samsung also announced the MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship program. Under this program, 1,000 female trainees and trainees with disabilities who have successfully completed the basic course will be granted a scholarship to cover the costs of the Samsung Advanced Repair and Industrial Skills Enhancement 2 (A.R.I.S.E.2) program.

Indonesia: Spurring Job Creation for a Better Community

The Rumah Belajar Samsung program, launched by the Samsung Tech Institute in Indonesia, aims to help students who have not received or completed formal education. For people aged 17 to 24, the institute offers training on a wide variety of electronics such as home appliances, computers,  and mobile phones as well as an opportunity to work at Samsung’s service centers following the training.

Since opening its doors in 2011, the program has graduated over 2,500 students, with around 600 of them securing jobs at various institutions, including Samsung service centers and a Samsung plant in Cikarang.

For its contributions to the Indonesian community, Samsung Indonesia was honored with the Best CSR Award 2016 and also received a silver prize at the Global CSR Summit and Awards 2017.

As a global corporate citizen, Samsung aims to contribute to the benefit of all, creating shared value on the basis of technology and innovation. By continuing to broaden its educational accessibility improvement programs, Samsung aspires to help each member of the global community reach their full potential and take the lead in creating fundamental solutions to the social issues of today and tomorrow.

A recent PanelWizard* study found that approximately one third of Dutch drivers occasionally use hand-held smartphones while driving a car or riding a bike. Many of the respondents claim that their reason for doing so is related to the social pressure to respond to calls and messages quickly.

The In-Traffic Reply app reduces this pressure by sending automated responses to calls and messages while the owner of the phone is on the road. The app will automatically activate when it detects the user is riding a bike or driving a car through the smartphone’s sensors such as its GPS. Users can choose to send the default reply (“I’m driving, so I cannot answer at the moment.”), a fun, animated response, or their own customized pre-set message.

In-Traffic Reply is currently in beta, and has already attracted the attention of hundreds of interested users. The full version of the app will launch in mid May and will be available in the Google Play Store.

*The study was carried out by PanelWizard at the behest of Samsung. There were 1,351 respondents, aged 18 and older, who get around primarily by bike and/or by car. The online study was conducted between March 20 and 23, 2017.

Check out, in the video below, the diverse ways Samsung envisions ultra-secure iris recognition technology may be used to advance the IoT era, simplifying everything from healthcare and travel to everyday transactions.

As a simple instance, carrying your baby, picking him or her up again and again is strenuous work. A baby carrier is a necessity. A necessity yes, but not without it’s faults. For one, the shoulder straps and waist belt put needless pressure on your body. And second, just looks bad when you have to wear it outside.

Samsung’s C-Lab, an internal program that aims to foster innovation at the company have set their eyes on solving these two issues of early parenthood. The result is an infant support carrier that monitors baby’s health and is comfy for both parent and baby. Ladies and gentlemen and babies… meet Dr. Macaron.

Weight Distribution

While we can’t reduce the baby’s weight we can distribute the load away from just the certain part of your body. Dr. Macaron has a Convertible Hipseat System that can be adjusted with one hand. Raising the seat of the carrier divides the weight away from the shoulders to be shared with the waist so that mommy can concentrate on the precious cargo inside.

Iconic Design

Dr. Macaron is a minimal no-nonsense design baby support system. We discarded anything that stuck out or didn’t feel in place and hid buckles and other contraptions away from view. Unlike most baby carriers, we chose a light ivory color instead of the often seen usual dark drab for a clean pure feel that will go well with any outfit.

Total Infant Care Service

Dr. Macaron isn’t only a baby carrier. In fact, it is a smart care service for your baby with a very well designed carry support. Simply by putting the small macaron shaped sensor into the seat of the carrier Dr. Macaron monitors if the baby needs a diaper change. Also, the sensor will check your activities and let you know how long you’ve been on your feet and need a breather. With the app it’s easy to keep a day to day record of your cute lil button growing up without having to keep a pencil and notebook handy at all times, keep it all on your smart device!

Sensor Detail

The small macaron shaped sensor in the seat of the carrier sends data to the pre-installed app in realtime. This data is processed and presented to you so that you can keep track of the leaps and bounds your baby is making day to day.

Dr. Macaron tackles a major problem shared by many in carrying their babies without wearing themselves out. Like a real macaron, a sweet outer shell with an even sweeter filling inside. A delicacy to sweeten your time with your baby.

Questioning things we took for granted and trying to improve upon them. That is the underlying approach for Dr. Macaron. It ends with a warm hug utilizing design and technology. Here at the C-Lab in Samsung Electronics we’re looking for unique and different solutions to life’s many questions with the answer of making it better.

*This product is under development and not yet available for sale.

When Rodolphe Laidet was just a young boy, he was introduced to the world of computers. It was through these early interactions that he inadvertently recognized his dream of working in the field of technology. He felt his passion for computers grow throughout the years and, as a teenager, dropped out of school to teach himself more about networks and operating systems.

His decision to take the road less traveled was met with much criticism. Facing social prejudice, he came to doubt his abilities, his decisions and even his future. But then he heard about Samsung Campus, a program that was established to cultivate a young and talented workforce and spur job creation through hands-on IT job training. It was here that Rodolphe finally got the opportunity to delve into computer programming in a formal learning environment.

Armed with a broad knowledge, and through the guidance of his mentors, Rodolphe was able to land a job as an engineer. Now, he uses the skills he learned at Samsung Campus to develop new concepts, paradigms and patterns in computer programming to help improve people’s lives. Rodolphe is the perfect example of how hard work and a willingness to overcome challenges can truly make dreams come true.

Samsung Electronics Colombia today unveiled the NOMADA Smart School, a portable learning environment which gives the opportunity to Colombian children to use Samsung technology to create, innovate and have fun in different regions of the country in their learning process.

The Samsung Smart School program, in its third year of operation in Colombia, enhances the learning process of students enrolled in public schools by providing new technologies and equipment while making the educational environment more intuitive, interactive and efficient. Its goal is to use technology to influence the learning environment by creating a different dynamic in which teachers and students retain a horizontal relationship rather than a hierarchical one.

“The next step in this experience is to replicate the Smart School environment around the country – in both rural and urban areas,” says César Muñoz, Corporate Citizenship manager at Samsung Electronics Colombia. “If it’s difficult for some children to get to their classrooms, why can’t the classrooms just go and find them?”

NOMADA was created to be a mobile learning environment that is fun, flexible and playful. “With Samsung’s technology,” Muñoz added, “the traditional classroom becomes a two-way learning environment that includes everything that we, in the last three years of research with Smart School, have learned about how to positively develop different learning processes through innovative technology”.

Transporting Knowledge through ‘Maloca’

The portable ‘Maloca’ (hut) classroom, designed by Samsung Electronics, replicates the experience of learning in an established Smart School. It is equipped with a 32″ monitor, tablet PCs, tables, rugs and cushions designed for collaborative work. Emulating the interactions of Colombian nomadic tribe culture, children and young people can gather around in a circle to share knowledge.

The NOMADA structure is transportable in order to share the experience with learners in different locations. The classroom can also record memorable stories from learners that it has previously encountered, allowing students to explore different communities and cultures and have new experiences.

Meeting the Needs of Each Community

Samsung has worked with local partners to identify the communities where the classroom can have a positive impact and developed a strategy and curriculum that will allow NOMADA to adapt to the educational objectives of each community with a touch of fun. Samsung is currently collaborating with the Medellin Public Utilities Company Foundation (EPM Foundation), the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Colciencias) and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF).

Each NOMADA unit travels with a teaching facilitator, who is trained by Samsung.  By the end of 2016, the company plans to have eight NOMADA units traveling to different communities around Colombia.

Lack of access to quality education prevents millions of people around the world from escaping the cycle of poverty. In countries where classrooms are crowded, resources are scarce, and higher education and career opportunities are limited, many youth are dissuaded from pursuing their dreams.

Understanding the urgent need for education reform globally, Samsung advocates high-quality, youth-friendly education for all, with an emphasis on eliminating disparities of all kinds.

Working with local governments, members of academia and non-profit organizations around the world, Samsung has established numerous programs that aim to equip the world’s youth with the knowledge and skills they need to advance personally and professionally. Such programs, which have already touched the lives of more than a million people, make full use of Samsung’s technology—a component that holds the power to unlock an individual’s potential to the fullest.

From building IT classrooms in rural communities to engaging students in hands-on STEM learning, Samsung hopes to not only help individuals build great careers, but also to discover future innovations that will allow for a better tomorrow.

Samsung Smart Schools and Samsung Tech Institute are two of the company’s major ongoing citizenship programs that aim to enhance digital learning skills and thus ensure a brighter future for all.

Samsung Smart Schools: Powering Education with Technology

The Samsung Smart School program was designed to bridge the IT accessibility gap between social classes, and foster creative talents by providing interactive education that draws on digital devices. In addition, the curriculum of the program, created especially by Samsung, enhances the educational experience for students aged 6 to 16 by utilizing more effective—and entertaining—teaching methods.

Amelia Smith, a head teacher at Braunstone Frith Primary School in Leicester, notes that her students have been incredibly receptive to the program.

“The Smart School has shown us where we want to be. Samsung has helped us along the path we wanted to go, to enable all children to become independent learners.”

The environment of the Samsung Smart School not only allows students and teachers to better connect and communicate via tech devices, but also provides opportunities for marginalized students to build IT expertise, an essential employability skill.

Promoting Digital Education in All Corners of the Globe

Currently, Samsung is working to expand the initiative so that even more students can benefit from it.

In Germany, specifically, Samsung Electronics GmbH has emphasized the value of IT education and the importance of digital competiveness in today’s workforce. It has captured the attention of both the nation’s government and educational organizations through its implementation of various projects aimed at reforming less developed digital education.

Two of these projects include the Rethinking Digital Education program, which supports digital public education, and the Code Week Award, a training program that encourages Germany’s youth to creatively explore the possibilities of the future.

Samsung Smart School initiatives have also been established in 13 Latin American countries, where great focus has been placed on training teachers and building an effective digital curriculum, as well as throughout Russia.

Perhaps the most notable Samsung Smart School in Russia is located inside the Dmitriy Rogachev Federal Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology.

It is here that long-term patients can access a full curriculum developed by the nation’s most renowned professors, with Samsung’s electronic boards and tablets.

Patients who complete courses at the Samsung Smart School become qualified to take Russia’s Unified State Exam. They also receive the same graduate certificate they would from an ordinary school, meaning that unpredicted health setbacks don’t have to disrupt their studies—or their dreams.

At the Samsung Smart Learning Centers in Thailand, more than 80,000 students have participated and worked to solve social problems with digital devices. These students have also been provided with Samsung Discovery Kits to explore various career options.

Likewise, Korean students participating in Samsung’s Junior Software Academy utilize digital materials that help them to think logically and solve problems in a creative way, thus gaining leadership skills and discovering new passions.

“Before I took part in the Junior Software Academy, I didn’t have any particular dream for the future,” notes Yoo-bin Roh, an elementary school student and participant of the program. “Now, however, I have discovered two treasures: my dream of becoming a programmer and my ability to create great programs that can change the world.”

Samsung Tech Institute: Hands-On Training for Career Development

The Samsung Tech Institute, which currently operates 191 branches worldwide, was established to cultivate a young and talented workforce and spur job creation through hands-on IT job training.

The institutes are operated in conjunction with universities and local governments, and each is customized to meet the specific needs of the country in which it operates.

For example, programs conducted in developing markets might offer training for customer service engineers, while those in more economically developed countries are designed to support software experts.

Young people who have partaken in Samsung’s Tech Institutes have not only have had better employment opportunities, but are also now contributing to the development of their own regional communities.

In 2014, the company founded Samsung Campus, a two-year tech institute in France, to help non-graduates find employment.

Operated by ZUP de CO, an NGO supporting underprivileged youth and EPITECH, a specialized IT educational institute, Samsung Campus provides over 1,600 hours of curriculum, covering areas such as web design and mobile app development. In addition, the program offers coaching sessions and a one-on-one mentoring program with Samsung France employees, imbuing students with confidence and a better understanding of the business environment in which they will evolve.

Already, a large number of program participants have been accepted into long-term internship programs, while others are exploring career opportunities they never thought possible.

“I used to spend all day distributing my resume to different businesses. Now I am contacted regularly about jobs I haven’t even applied for,” notes one program graduate. “The Samsung Campus helped me regain confidence in myself—and my future. My professional outlook has completely changed.”

Securing Jobs, Instilling Confidence

Samsung also operates eight Samsung Tech Institutes in China—a country that has recently seen a growing interest in technology and job training. Like those in France, these institutes aim to foster a young and innovative workforce in order to help resolve youth unemployment and improve awareness about technical jobs.

The facilities offer service skill training to young people in association with the Samsung Electronics (Beijing) Service Company (SBSC). Many individuals who have completed the course currently work at SBSC as service engineers while others, like Ren Kang of Shaanxi Province, hope to pursue their own enterprises.

Kang traveled to Brazil in 2015 to compete in the WorldSkills Competition—a tournament in which China claimed first prize—but felt truly empowered only after attending the Samsung Tech Institute.

“While learning about my current job, I became more confident in what I was doing through feedback from my boss, as well as from customer compliments,” Kang explains. “Now I dream of opening my own product repair center, thanks to the Samsung Tech Institute.”

Through the continuation of programs such as Samsung Smart School and Samsung Tech Institute, the company hopes to continue to open doors to a world of new possibilities for all individuals, regardless of their geographic location, educational background or financial situation.

Six camera experts who worked on the Gear 360 project in the Mobile Communications Business, explained the challenges they had to overcome as well as the lessons they learned during the development of the product.

(From left to right) Principal Engineer Yongwook Kim, Senior Engineer Junghyun Lee, Soojung Kim, Dongok Choi, Dongwoo Kim and Engineer Kiyun Jo

Q. Tell us a bit about the Gear 360 and how it came to be developed.

Yongwook Kim: In the same way that consumers once prompted camera manufacturers to support video recording on digital cameras, they are now wanting to see photos and watch video content in the same way they would with their own eyes. Gear VR provides such an experience, allowing viewers to feel as if they are actually in the moment.

Yet people also want to capture these moments, along with every little object and action that appears in them, as accurately as possible. Understanding this, we developed the Gear 360.

Dongok Choi: Devices like smartphones and TVs—of which Samsung is most reputed for—are essentially tools that enable viewers to consume content. On the other hand, the Gear 360 is a new type of product that lets them produce content.

Q. How did the development process of the Gear 360 differ from that of traditional cameras?

Dongwoo Kim: Traditional cameras allow you to capture an image within a limited angle of view through the lens, so you have to actually point the camera directly at the subject you’re shooting to capture it. In typical lenses, there is a central area and a peripheral area. Because we naturally focus on the center of a photograph, camera lenses, in general, produce the best picture quality at the center and relatively lower quality on the sides.

But 360-degree cameras are different. They shoot in all directions and don’t distinguish between the central and peripheral areas. When using Gear VR, for example, the “center” of an image or video changes as you turn your head in different directions. If there were a drastic difference in picture quality between central and peripheral areas, it wouldn’t feel very lifelike. Therefore, we had to minimize this difference on the Gear 360, and placed a great emphasis on designing and manufacturing the lens to ensure consistency in picture quality.

Q. How did you accomplish this?

Dongwoo Kim: Since it was our first time developing a 360-degree camera, we had to go through numerous procedures including analyzing consumer demands, determining design specifications and developing a methodology for evaluation and standardization.

Also, we had to consider things we had never given thought to before with smartphone cameras such as the stitching algorithm—which connects pictures and videos from all directions in a sphere-like form. We had a lot to do on the software front, too.

Soojung Kim: To adjust sensor assy and lens assy for the Gear 360, we needed equipment to carry out the “active align” process. However, in the initial stages of the Gear 360’s development, facilities that manufactured this equipment were also in their infancy, producing only 10 to 20 units per hour.

Because of this, it took an enormous amount of time to manufacture a pilot device for testing. We really couldn’t afford to wait, so we had to roll up our sleeves and personally help out with the manually-operated equipment. I remember how excited we were when we finally saw the module completion process working properly.

Q. What were the challenges in using two camera modules on the Gear 360?

Kiyun Jo: Considering the sphere-like design of the product, as well as performance and efficiency in aligning multiple cameras, we decided to use two camera modules and two image sensors. This created new challenges, including sensitivity deviation between the sensors and differences in the volume of image shift from each camera.

A typical camera design might incorporate multiple lenses into a single lens module to allow for more sophisticated functions. To do this, it is critical to align the optic axis of each lens accurately. But developing the Gear 360 was even more challenging, as we had to square each lens module perfectly with the other.

Another key element in manufacturing a camera is to set a perfect locational relation between the lens and sensor. While the tilt of the sensor is typically the top priority in smartphone cameras, our focus with the Gear 360 was on both three-directional motion components (x, y and z) as well as spin components (yaw, pitch and roll). In other words, we had to apply far more sophisticated standards to the tilt and spinning of the lenses.

Q. Why did you choose the 195-degree view angle?

Junghyun Lee: If you want to shoot everything in a full field of view of 360 degrees with two lenses, each lens has to capture more than 180 degrees. Also, you need some overlap of the two images or videos for stitching.

We had no specific formula to work with, but we knew that it was better to go for a larger view angle to give the software enough information to successfully stitch the images.

However, a larger view angle forces the device to use up more resources, making it more difficult to design the device in terms of optics and components. With this angle, the lenses might also capture the camera’s internal components. So we had to pay extra attention to ensure that the components would not interrupt the view angle. After much trial and error, we found that a 195-degree view angle guarantees optimal results.

Q. Why do you use fish-eye lenses?

Dongok Choi: Videos and images taken with a fish-eye lens are displayed in a sphere-like form. So if you look at them in 2D, such as on a smartphone, they look flattened and distorted. Considering a 360-degree camera needs to shoot and record everything around you, a fish-eye lens is favorable because it captures things more accurately.

To put this into perspective, imagine a globe in a classroom. Thanks to its spherical shape, it represents scale and size more accurately than a flat world map.

Q. You previously mentioned video and image stitching. How does that work?

Junghyun Lee: Since we shoot with two 195-degree lenses that face opposite directions, the excess parts of the images (from 180 to 195 degrees) overlap each other. The software processes this overlap to seamlessly connect the two images on the sides.

For optimal results, we tried to make the colors and other elements in the two stitched images appear as natural as possible even before being processed by the software. To this end, we made diverse efforts, including minimizing the difference in colors and exposure of the two lenses by adjusting ISO/AWB, and fine-tuning the optics in the engineering process.

Q. How did you evaluate the picture quality for the Gear 360?

Yongwook Kim: There was no specific standard to determine the picture quality. As I mentioned earlier, there is no difference in the central and peripheral parts of the image. So we didn’t know where to look to determine if the picture quality was satisfactory. So we continued to discuss the issue and change the standards and scope throughout the development and verification phases.

Soojung Kim: While we had established standards to evaluate the picture quality of conventional cameras, we didn’t have any to do so with sphere-like images and videos. In addition, we concentrated our efforts to meet consumer expectations, which was difficult as they have ever higher standards driven by steady advancements in smartphone cameras. As a result, we had to devise an entirely new set of standards to evaluate images captured by the Gear 360.

Samsung Electronics has showcased a series of key 5G innovations including advanced 5G technology platforms with mmWave, and Multi-Link solution at MWC 2016, making the strongest case yet for the viability and capability of next-generation mobile technologies.

“In 2014, Samsung has set some of the earliest industry benchmarks in 5G technology and this year we announced another benchmark focusing to real-world trials, mobility tests and 5G use cases like live streaming VR in near 4K UHD with tier 1 operators in the USA and Korea.” said Dongsoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing team in Samsung’s Networks Business. “5G, the next generation of mobile and related network technology, is at our doorstep and it will enable a degree of connectivity that we could have only dreamed of just 10 years ago.”

“Entire industries are going to be transformed by the connectivity enabled by 5G networks and devices” said Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Communications Research team in Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. “Looking at the evolving needs of everyone from individual subscribers to large enterprises, Samsung is heavily focused on identifying and delivering the technologies that will shape the next decade of connected users and services.”

Milestone Technologies

At this year’s MWC, Samsung is unveiling the latest updates to its 5G technology platforms covering 3.5GHz to 28GHz and 60GHZ millimeter wave (mmWave). Highlights include advanced hybrid beamforming capabilities, ultra-high bitrates, extremely low latency, a prototype small cell form factor for mmWave and Samsung’s Full Dimension-MIMO technology which is capable of increasing cell capacity by over 65% compared to standard MIMO.

Samsung’s 28GHz and 60GHz mmWave systems have demonstrated impressive results, both in the lab and in real-world environments. Samsung’s research into mmWave spectrum has found that it is ideally suited for next-generation, high-density small cell-type deployments. In addition, the dense antenna arrays, combined with signal processing technology, enable advanced hybrid beamforming techniques that improve cell capacity and user experience by ensuring the best possible radio signal, directly targeted to each user’s device. Making use of this adaptive array antenna technology, Samsung’s beamforming technology has the ability to compensate in non-line of sight (nLoS) situations by bouncing a beam off of nearby surfaces in order to reach the user’s device.

World Firsts – Mobility in your Hand

Most recently, Samsung has begun to expand its development efforts to surpass other key milestones, including a successful demonstration of multi-cell mobility, as well as a handheld device in a commercial form-factor – both world firsts.

The mobility tests represent an important requirement for commercialization, and Samsung has demonstrated the ability to seamlessly handover between cells with no interruption to the user experience. This includes both intra-system (mmWave cell to mmWave cell) and inter-system (mmWave cell to LTE) handovers. Meanwhile, the device prototype, based on Samsung’s Galaxy S6, maintains existing 3G and LTE connectivity with the addition of an embedded 60GHz antenna module.

Multi-Link – Unified Connectivity

A typical mobile network today can be a pretty complicated web of technologies. Most of these networks are composed of a range of different frequency bands, usage regulations (licensed and unlicensed) and technology standards (2G, 3G, LTE, WiFi).

With 5G networks, Samsung will take aggregation technology one giant leap forward with the introduction of its Smart Multi-Link solution. Leveraging the power of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networks (SDN) into a Unified Core solution, Samsung will provide operators with the ability to aggregate connectivity across any number of access technologies (e.g. 3-band LTE + WiFi, 5G + LTE-U, etc.) in a manner that is seamless and transparent for end-users.

Using its broad range of expertise across product portfolios—from mobile devices to home appliances to semiconductor chips—Samsung is able to rapidly innovate and build truly end-to-end portfolios that meet the diverse needs of its customers from users to service providers, and from enterprise to government.

Samsung also seeks to contribute to increased connectivity and ubiquitous access to services through its significant participation in global standards organizations such as the 3GPP and the ITU. At the same time, partnerships with both governments (such as the Giga Korea Project and Europe’s 5G-PPP) and various leading research institutions mean that Samsung is at the forefront of the 5G standardization effort.

When Technology Meets Fashion

Situated in the chic neighborhood of SoHo, the center of the city’s fashion scene, the studio was the perfect setting to celebrate the new releases as well as the launch of Samsung’s fall lookbook, a fashion-forward campaign created to introduce the latest products in a unique way.

Upon entering, attendees were each given a copy of the lookbook, an eye-catching, magazine-like publication chock full of gorgeous, glossy spreads in bright colors and modern designs that highlight the features of the Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5. The book was a collaborative effort of the industry’s biggest tastemakers including Creative Director Stephen Gan, editor-in-chief of V Magazine.

Gan was inspired by Samsung’s features and functionalities that evoke the incredible range of human emotions and, as such, aimed to capture the feelings that powerful technology, be it an email or an emoticon, can spark, along with the incredible features of the phones themselves.

After flipping through the pages of the book, which exhibits captions such as “Next is Passionate,” “Next is Ecstatic” and “Next is Bold” alongside striking photographs that portray each of the emotions, it becomes obvious that Gan was successful in meeting his objective. That success was also due in part to the efforts of photographer Steven Klein, contributor to Harper’s Bazaar, as well as internationally renowned fashion models Bella Hadid and Xiao Wen Ju.

The Ultimate Accessory

Nearby, crowds of guests gathered in the modern studio space and chatted over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as they admired the contemporary interior and décor that tastefully incorporated Samsung’s innovative products.

The well-dressed attendees donned the latest looks, but in addition to their clothes, the most popular accessories seemed to be digital devices, which guests used to discuss, photograph and share the event. The fact that the reception was themed around this very concept was no coincidence, as fashion and technology have been deeply intertwined in recent years, constantly inspiring and emulating each other in design, recreating and revamping again and again.

Dennis Miloseski, Head of Studio, Samsung Design America, noted this in his welcoming remarks, stating that the smartphone has become the “ultimate accessory,” in that it not only connects us with others, but plays a central role in how we express ourselves. The innovative features of the new Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5, including improved video and camera systems, the dual edge display of the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the creatively-driven S Pen of the Galaxy Note5, showcase this truth.

Later on, the lookbook team was invited on stage as the publication’s high fashion photographs were displayed on the screen. After doting on the features and congratulating one another on a job well done, they raised their glasses to the crowd in a toast.

Technology for a Fashionable Lifestyle

The DJ picked up the tempo once again and, as music blasted throughout the room, the guests dispersed, each eager to be the first to get the chance to try out Samsung’s brand new products.  Among them, lookbook cover model Bella Hadid was seen clutching her own Samsung device, and was quick to point out her favorite Samsung features.

“Both the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Note5 are incredible devices, but I particularly love the S6 edge+. When traveling, I always watch movies on my phone so the big screen is definitely a huge plus. I’m also a fan of the awesome camera and editing features since they make sharing my life on Instagram so much easier!” she noted.

Because of his passion for photography, Klein, too, favors Samsung’s smartphone cameras, not only for the true-to-life color rendition and 4K capacity that allow him to excel professionally, but also because the smartphone camera helps him to better express himself and his emotions when connecting with others.

He is also a big fan of the portability features of the S Pen, stating, “I love the pen because whenever I have to do retouching on a photograph, I usually have to wait for the print and then write out my notes by hand in the studio with my assistant. Now, it gives me a lot of freedom to be wherever I want to be. If I have a photograph and I need to change the way it’s printed or make notes on a storyboard, I can do all my retouching no matter where I am.”

The Unpacked reception wrapped up with a few media interviews and quick photos of the campaign’s stars, while guests noted the release date of the new devices (August 21 in the United States).

The reception was both a success and a reminder that Samsung remains a true force of fashion that strives to stay ahead of the curve with its distinguished devices, cutting-edge technology and unprecedented device categories and designs. Like fashion, Samsung technology is always evolving and improving and will continue to inspire many industries in the future.

As mobile devices get thinner, the components inside them must scale down, too. Samsung’s latest chip, the 1.0μm-pixel-based 16 megapixel (MP) CMOS image sensor, did exactly that. It brings high resolution imaging to one of the slimmest smartphones in the market.

Image sensors hold an array of pixels, or pockets that collect light particles called photons. Better the image sensor, the more light it accurately captures through its pixels, which it then converts into electrical signals. Therefore, more pixels that are larger in size allow for better picture quality.

Slimmer devices have less space for interior components, so pixels get smaller as well, making the absorption of photons much more complicated. To continue to achieve high-resolution imaging, the solution thus far has been to maximize the photon absorption of each pixel. When it comes to the limitations due to scaling, however, this method still faces a number of challenges. The pixels’ sensitivity to light may decrease while loose photons create crosstalk that causes noise.

Samsung introduced ISOCELL technology in 2014 which reduces crosstalk of photons between pixels by 30 percent and has a 20 percent wider chief ray angle, allowing pixels to collect more light so as to capture colors more precisely.

The 1.0μm-pixel-based image sensor measures only about 5mm high, roughly 20 percent thinner than the previous 1.12μm model and offers comparable image quality. Device manufacturers now have more flexibility in designing products that are sleek and stylish and capable of taking high resolution, share-worthy photos.

Read more about ISOCELL technology:

Samsung Announces Mass Production of Industry’s First Mobile Image Sensor with 1.0μm Pixels

Samsung Explains ISOCELL CMOS Image Sensors

Get the Big Picture: CMOS Image Sensors and ISOCELL

Samsung Electronics announced that it will partner with Korean telecommunications operator LG U+ to jointly develop 5G technology, in a move that will further strengthen both companies. The agreement will also enhance Korea’s global leadership in 5G research and help drive the creation of standards for the next major phase of innovation in mobile telecommunications.

“This partnership will help us drive R&D, which in turn will power innovation in the global telecommunications industry. 5G networks will be based on the convergence of a whole host of incredible new technologies, from more advanced antenna systems to Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). Bringing together Samsung’s cutting-edge technology and LG U+’s expertise and understanding of end-users preferences as well as application and service trends, will be a powerful combination,” said DongSoo Park, Executive Vice President of R&D in Network Business at Samsung Electronics.

“Together we will be well-prepared for the 5G era. Through close collaboration and by leveraging LG U+’s extensive network management understanding and Samsung’s technology leadership, we hope to lead the next generation of telecommunications technology, not only in Korea, but around the world,” added Sun Tae Kim, Executive Vice President of LG U+’s Service and Development Division.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony on June 25, which marks the formal start of the partnership, was attended by almost 100 senior staff from both companies. The event also featured an in-depth discussion of how the two companies will collaborate; as a result, both sides agreed to a shared ‘5G Readiness Target’ for the year 2020.

The collaboration will focus on three areas that are of critical strategic importance to 5G’s future:

1) 5G global spectrum identification and acquisition

Identifying and acquiring appropriate spectrum for 5G use is a key goal of the partnership, with particular emphasis on high-frequency bands, due to its relatively high availability and potentially enormous data capacity. Given the lack of industry-wide agreement on 5G spectrum, Samsung and LG U+ have identified an urgent need to drive early global standardization. Together, the companies will contribute jointly to efforts to determine the best spectrum – subject to the consensus of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) IMT-2020 group.

Samsung Electronics and LG U+ will prepare a collaborative white paper on 5G spectrum standardization and will appear jointly at key industry events to address this issue. As part of their submission for the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), the South Korean telecommunications industry and government have proposed the following six 5G spectrum bands as suitable for global usage: 27 – 29.5GHz, 31.8 – 33.4 GHz, 37 – 42.5 GHz, 45.5 – 50.2 GHz, 50.4 – 52.6 GHz, and 64 – 74 GHz.

2) 5G technology co-development

To establish a leadership position in 5G, Samsung and LG U+ will collaborate on future research and development. For example, the companies will co-develop Full Dimension Multiple Input Multiple Output (FD-MIMO) antenna technology, in order to deliver 5G’s throughput and data capacity potential.

Other joint R&D areas will include network architecture design, a review of key network elements and new millimetre wave (mmWave) radio technologies – both for network infrastructure and user devices. Performance targets in this latter area include vastly improved throughput capabilities and smooth service, even at speeds of up to 500km/h.

Lastly, co-development will also focus on Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies, with the aim of sharply enhancing end-to-end operational efficiency and flexibility. Advances in these areas are considered essential to drive performance and support the next generation of Internet-of-Things based devices and services.

3) 5G technology global standardization

The partnership will focus not only on the determination of 5G spectrum, but the standardization of 5G technologies as well.

To this end, Samsung Electronics and LG U+ will actively participate in several key global standardization bodies, including the ITU’s IMT-2020 promotion group and the 5G Forum in Korea. These organizations are important platforms from which Samsung and LG U+ can jointly promote the adoption of 5G spectrum and technology standards. Together, the companies will actively contribute to the advancement of Korea’s ICT leadership efforts.

As detailed in Samsung’s 5G Vision whitepaper, the advent of 5G mobile networks is expected to exponentially increase cellular data throughput capabilities while drastically reducing network latency and operational costs. However, if this potential is to be realized, it will be essential to strike industry partnerships and collaborate during the ongoing development of 5G technology.

In addition to LG U+ in South Korea, Samsung has established partnerships with several operators across the world’s leading LTE markets, all with the aim of accelerating the R&D of 5G technology. These include collaboration with operators in Japan, Europe, and South Korea.

Samsung has also taken an active role in multiple 5G exploratory and standardization organizations, including the previously mentioned ITU’s IMT-2020, the World Radiocommunication Conference, and the 5G Forum in South Korea – as well as the Europe-focused 5G Public Private Partnership (5G PPP).

About LG U+

LG Uplus Corp. provides mobile telecommunication services to individual and corporate customers in the Republic of Korea. It provides personal services, such as mobile telecommunication, Internet phone, broadband Internet, IPTV, triple play services, cable TV transmission line services, and personal media cloud services. The company also offers local/long distance/international telephone services; telephone additional services, such as nationwide representative number, IPCC, free telephone, etc.; and VoIP services for corporate customers. In addition, it provides private circuit services, including local/international broadcasting, MVP, etc.; corporate Internet services, such as biz net, office net, PC room, etc.; and IDC services comprising collocation, hosting, CDN, etc. Further, the company offers online corporate payment gateway services; corporate customer mass message transfer and relay services; SME solutions, training solutions, etc.; and electricity/energy solution services, including electricity telecommunication, lighting control, smart meter, etc., as well as LTE routers, wireless payment readers, DTG, and M2M services, such as DTG, smart clean, etc. Additionally, it provides cell phone rental services for foreigners, students, and business men. The company was formerly known as LG Telecom, Ltd. and changed its name to LG Uplus Corp. in July 2010. LG Uplus Corp. was founded in 1996 and is based in Seoul, South Korea..