Inside Samsung’s global headquarters in South Korea | CNBC Reports

I'm inside Samsung's

global

headquarters

here in South Korea, where it's lunchtime. I'm taking an exclusive look inside Samsung, exploring three of its sprawling campuses around the city of Seoul. Samsung is the most popular smartphone maker in the world, ahead of Huawei and Apple. But its smartphone business is just one part of Samsung's operation, which includes shipping and even construction. Samsung also makes televisions, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, laptops, printers, fax machines, door locks and also has a large business-to-business unit. Samsung employs more than 320,000 people worldwide. And about 70% of them are outside South Korea. It is the twelfth largest company in the world by revenue and the second largest technology company in the world.

Behind me is a real bus station just for Samsung employees. And with so many campuses located in South Korea, this tour makes me feel like I'm exploring an entire city. Every building you see behind me is part of Samsung right now. And they also have everything you can imagine. This campus has its own Dunkin' Donuts. It even has its own fire stations. My first stop is Samsung Digital City. At 346 acres, that makes it three times the size of Vatican City. It is home to its consumer electronics business, which includes everything from phones to televisions to microwaves.

There is even a dedicated area within Digital City where Samsung is testing its 5G technology. In this part of the campus, Samsung is testing its 5G network equipment through real-life use cases. So I see cameras on buildings, cameras on traffic lights. These are some of Samsung's 5G network equipment currently being deployed. This one, for example, is already being used in the US. Samsung has signed 5G deals with companies like AT&T and Verizon in the US. Closer to home, Samsung is already working with major telecom providers to roll out its 5G network equipment, making South Korea one of the first countries to do so.

As I wander around the Samsung campus, something stands out. Security is tight here. In fact, they have metal detectors for when you leave the building and that is for security reasons. This is to ensure that no company property leaves the premises. Next, I head to C-Lab, or Samsung's Creative Lab. It's an internal incubation program that allows employees to pitch and work on their ideas without having to worry about their day jobs. Several products have emerged from C-Lab, including an on-demand 3D printer and a smart belt. Successful projects are absorbed internally or spun off into new external companies, with Samsung retaining a small stake in the companies.

Each campus has its own gym, it's quite large, I'm told it really peaks and fills up around 6pm. This one even has its own running track, there is a fast lane and a slow lane, which runs around the entire perimeter of the gym. The really cool thing is that you can even borrow gym clothes, so you don't even need to bring your own clothes. It's almost lunch time, so I'll take a break from this tour and have some lunch. This is today's lunch menu behind me. I see a lot of different cuisines. I think I found the most popular station here in the cafeteria.

I'm going to try some Korean noodles this season. I'm sorry. This seems like a lot of food, but they have a system where if you choose a brown tray, it means you want more food, if you choose a green tray, it means you want less food. So I didn't know it, but I'm secretly happy I chose this tray. Lunch is completely free here on campus, there are no cash registers or anything. And the cafes are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a rice station. Instead of the usual condiments like ketchup and mustard, you have... kimchi.

That's a lot of kimchi. I just realized that many of the columns have letters so you can easily find your friends and sit with them. Well, look, we don't need an app for everything. If you have a big deadline and can't enjoy a sit-down lunch, well, this is the takeout section where you just grab and go. As you leave the cafeteria, there is this hallway where you can grab a glass of water and freshen up before heading back to work. I guess I should freshen up too. After lunch, I take a walk through what is known as Central Park.

Right now, it's still lunch time, so there are a lot of employees taking a walk and just hanging out. There are many different trees, colors. There is random classical music in certain parts of the park. This campus is also home to the Samsung Innovation Museum, which is open to the public. Here you will find not only the evolution of Samsung products but also the history of technology in general. Then, I head to another campus called Samsung Nano City. It is the home of Samsung's semiconductor division. This campus alone houses 40,000 employees and has 12 cafeterias. This building behind me is where Samsung makes semiconductor chips, things that are used in consumer electronics, like your smartphone.

Last year, Samsung became the world's largest chipmaker by revenue. For every $1,000 iPhone X that Apple sells, Samsung reportedly makes $110 through the phone's chips. These are the buildings of Samsung's Research and Development Center for its microchips. There are 14,000 employees working in these three buildings but because it's so secret, well, I don't have any access beyond this lobby. I finish the tour at the Samsung R&D campus. It is about 45 minutes drive from Nano City. This is where much of the design work is done. Samsung says about a fifth of its

global

workforce is dedicated to research and development.

There are more than 65,000 people. To encourage creativity, there is a library where designers and employees can exchange ideas and find inspiration. My last stop is at what is called the Samsung Sound Lab. It has everything from stereos to voice booths, where they record the voices of Samsung's smartphone virtual assistant, Bixby. All sounds are created for things you wouldn't even think of, like when you charge your phone, unplug it from the charger, when you open the refrigerator, or when the refrigerator has been open for more than a minute. It's a term called Sonic Branding. They even came up with the sound for Samsung Pay, which was supposed to imitate the sound of a credit card being taken out of a wallet.

And then there's the sound they created of a Samsung air conditioner turning off. And I guess that's my cue to conclude this tour. Hi guys, I'm Uptin. Thanks for watching! Check out my tour of the Baidu campus and the Huawei campus and see how they compare to Samsung. While you're at it, subscribe to our channel, see you next time.