In 1938, Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung, founded Mitsuboshi Trading Company (株式会社三星商会), or Samsung Sanghoe (주식회사 삼성상회) at Daegu city. Samsung started out as a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong). It dealt in dried fish, locally-grown groceries, and noodles.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung#1938%E2%80%931970