Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Treefarmer]

it seems like they can do pretty much what they want, and in korea they are seen as the top product, but outside of korea samsung is just cheap shite

how did that happen?

[Paji eh Wong]

[Demophobe]

When Korea was building their economy, they went for that cheap market. It seems to have served them well, but now they are pigeon-holed into it. They have been (for a number of years) trying to move upscale and that too seems to be working. Samsung don't have the Wal-Mart image alone anymore; their products are being carried by more and more specialty electronic shops, and not just to serve the bottom end.

Samsung monitors are a good example.

[Treefarmer]

[jeffkim1972]

Why do they have to be?

Maybe Samsung wants to be more like an IBM, Intel, Motorola, or Texas Instruments.

Samsung's got nearly everything Sony has except a game console.

But Sony isn't a semiconductor manufacturer. Does the world need another challenger to the PS3 or XBox (or whatever is out there, sorry i'm not a gamer).

In Asia, they are considered on par with Sony in terms of electronics. In other parts of the world, they are making their way up or are already there.

[Treefarmer]

i would never buy anything by samsung made. the cameras and phones have rubbish batteries, the tvs aren't as good as philips, the laptops are just crap

[Paji eh Wong]

Diamond Dilemma is a good book

[shaunew]

Samsung did have a game console I forget what it was called but it was on par with nintendo 64.

[mj roach]

It wasn't 'all' that long ago that Japan was making the same 'junk' that comes out of China today; Korea came in between.

'Made in Japan' had such a bad rep. back then they even created a new manufacturing center and named it Usa and stamped all the 'five & dime' crap with 'Made in Usa'; kind of an economic 'Pear Harbor'.

[Treefarmer]

[SeoulFinn]

I don't have any major problems about buying Samsung's products. I admit that I used to think that all Korean products were crap, but in my opinion these days Samsung's TVs, LCDs, RAM, HDDs etc. are at par with other big name brands. Sony isn't as good and innovative anymore as it used to be. As for Philips TVs, they really aren't that spectacular.

Could it be that the Korean products made for domestic market aren't as well made as those meant for European or North American market? One thing I noticed is that the prices for Samsung or LG in Korea are more expensive than abroad. Often they are a lot cheaper (with same specs) than Sony. Why would anyone pay more for same? Besides, sometimes Samsung's warranty is better than what the competitor offers.


SeoulFinn


PS. If I was looking for a camera I wouldn't buy Samsung, but I wouldn't buy Sony either.

[mj roach]

Try...50's early 60's

[Otherside]

I've been a fan of samsung products for quite a while now.
We've got 3 Samsung TV's back home (between 2-11 years old) and none of them have given a single problem.

The only samsung product I wouldnt want to buy would be a cellphone (I prefer the Nokia interface) but, as I'm in Korea I'm stuck with a samsung phone.

However, It's true that samsung can do pretty much whatever it wants in korea. It's success hasn't just been built on good innovation and a solid business model but the korean governments over the years have helped them out PLENTY over the years.

Goldstar used to be a piece of shit. However since they rebranded themselves as LG (about 7 years ago I think), their products have improved dramatically.

[huffdaddy]

[Fresh Prince]