International Corner

Hwang Seong-yun, Samsung Electronics



Samsung Electronics is the leading manufacturer in the field in Korea. That is why many students who are looking for a job want to enter this company. Therefore, I interviewed Hwang Seong-yun, the lead engineer in the industrial design team for the Galaxy Tab and an interviewer at Samsung Electronics.

1. Who are you and what is your main work?
I’m Hwang Seong-yun, the head engineer in the industrial design team working on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Industrial design is my main work. Industrial design is planning the design for a product. My team designs hardware for the Galaxy Tab. I also interview prospective employees. Both are hard work, but they are quite enjoyable and rewarding.

2. Where do you get ideas from?
When we start designing a new project or need some ideas for it, there are a few ways to achieve that. A common way is discussion. We get ideas from internal discussions through several methods. Brainstorming is one of them. Bench marking is another way to get some ideas. Comparing our products with a competitor’s product, we can find the weak or the strong points of our competitor and make some solutions to overcome our weak points. These solutions then become ideas for our design. Visiting a place such as an industrial design exhibition is another way to get ideas because you can grasp the real purpose of design and what is needed. Apart from these, we use various activities to develop ideas because ideas are an essential component of new designs.

3. What is the hardest thing as head of the industrial design team?
In my case, the most difficult thing is promoting respect for each other. When team members cannot understand or cannot cooperate, then they feel irritated with each other. Physical exhaustion from heavy work might be reduced by dividing tasks and giving them a day off. However, trouble from disagreeing with each other can’t be solved easily. If the head of the team ignores this problem, the team will be split. This split undermines the quality of products. Therefore, I do my best to prevent splits in our team.

4. What is the most popular type of candidate?
Basically, candidates must have expertise in their major. It stands to reason. Furthermore, we prefer people who are interested in various academic fields and have a deeper understanding of society. On the basis of this understanding, they can examine the market for our products. We call it T-shaped talents. They are specialists in their fields and have a wide range of knowledge. For example, one candidate majored in science or technology, but he wants to work in the marketing department. If he has a grounding in marketing, our company will allow him to work in the marketing department.

5. What would you recommend to university students?
I hope you do not sacrifice your life in university just to get a job. Having certificates or licenses and studying foreign languages hard is good for you. However, you should not do that just to get a job. You should do that for your self-improvement. You have to establish clear purposes for obtaining certificates or studying foreign languages. Because your university life is so precious, you should not study just to get a job.
In addition, I want you to see the whole world. Do not focus only on Korea, but turn your eyes to the whole world which is open to you. You can find chances in the world which will guarantee your great future life. Just do it with passion. It will lead you to success.