Re-pairing Bucheon fab and Silicon Valley: The establishment of the Hanguk Semiconductor Plant in the 1970s

Abstract

Histories of the 1970s semiconductor industry have centered on the rise of Silicon Valley and the emergence of (C)MOS ([complementary] metal-oxide-semiconductor) technology. This dominant narrative, however, offers an incomplete picture, often obscuring the concurrent emergence of global manufacturing hubs outside the United States. This article addresses this historiographical gap by examining a parallel, yet overlooked, development: the establishment of Hanguk Semiconductor, the predecessor of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division, in Bucheon, Korea. Moving beyond macro-narratives of state-led development or technology transfer, this article focuses on the workers’ resourceful creativity. It introduces the concept of “re-pairing” to analyze how these workers connected formal technological resources from the United States with informal, local resources in Korea. This article shows that this re-pairing was characterized by strategic invisibility, a tactic whereby workers wielded their unrecognized labor as a resource. By analyzing these practices, the article argues that they laid the crucial, yet hidden, technological foundations for the subsequent rise of the Korean semiconductor industry, an argument that offers a window into the broader growth of East Asia’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.