How did South Korea become a global memory chip brother?

Speaking of major memory manufacturers, everyones first reaction must be South Koreas Samsung and SK Hynix. This is indeed the case. In the memory field, these two companies are really too strong.

According to the data of the first quarter, in the field of DRAM, Samsung took a 41.5% share, while SK Hynix took a 29.3% share. The two ranked first and second in the world respectively, with a total share of 70.5%. 8%.

How strong is Korean memory? Monthly export is more than 42 billion yuan, 60%+ sold to China

According to the data of 2020Q4, in the field of NAND flash memory, Samsung has won 32.9% of the share, ranking first in the world, and SK Hynix won 11.6% of the share, ranking fourth in the world, and the total share of the two reached Its 44.5%, and SK Hynix acquired Intels NAND flash memory business. If you include Intels NAND business, SK Hynix ranks second and has a higher share.

It is precise because these two manufacturers have such strength that memory has always contributed a large share of semiconductor products exported from South Korea.

Taking the data in May as an example, South Korea exported 10.1 billion U.S. dollars in semiconductors in May, equivalent to 65.2 billion yuan, of which memory chips accounted for 65%, which means that the export of memory alone reached more than 42 billion yuan.

The destination countries of exports are mainly the Chinese market, and at least 60% of them are sold to the Chinese market. Because China is a global electronic product manufacturing plant, most of the products that require a large number of memory chips, such as mobile phones, computers, TVs, and game consoles, are manufactured in China.

According to market observers, with the growth in demand for electronic products in the second half of the year, South Koreas semiconductor exports are expected to hit a new high this year, and the contribution of memory is indispensable.

In fact, we know that South Korea is really a small country compared to China, with a small land area of ​​only 99,600 square kilometers and a small population, about 52 million people.

And South Korea's semiconductor industry was as poor as mainland China in the early days, so why has South Korea become the world's largest memory chip in just a few decades?

On the one hand, it was because the United States suppressed Japanese semiconductors that year, which led to the transfer of the semiconductor industry to South Korea, and Samsung seized the opportunity to achieve a comeback step by step through joint vertical and horizontal connections and then led SK Hynix to establish a leading position together.

On the other hand, South Korea has few resources and has been working hard to develop high-tech and high-value-added industries. South Korea is also regarded as the younger brother of the United States. It has not been suppressed, and the United States is also willing to support the rise of Korean companies, such as Samsung's shareholders. , A large amount of American capital, so Samsung has received the support of funds, talents, technology, etc., and its development is very fast.

But I have to admit that South Korea is really strong in the semiconductor industry, and companies like Samsung are indeed worth learning from.