GoldStar was a South Korean electronics company established in 1958. The corporate name was changed to
LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
and
LG Cable on February 28, 1995, after merging with
Lucky Chemical. LG Cable was spun off from LG Electronics and changed its name to
LS Cable in 2005.
Manufacturing
GoldStar manufactured a wide variety of products, including
radios
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...
,
televisions
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
,
air conditioners,
MSX home computers,
LCD games
Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose s ...
,
videocassette recorder
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette
Videotape is magnetic tape ...
s,
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
and
audio cassette tape
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
s,
microwave oven
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
s,
electronic typewriters,
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
s,
escalators,
elevators
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
,
dehumidifier
A dehumidifier is an air conditioning device which reduces and maintains the level of humidity in the air. This is done usually for health or thermal comfort reasons, or to eliminate musty odor and to prevent the growth of mildew by extracting w ...
s, and
tractors
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
. GoldStar televisions became a commonly sold brand of consumer television sets in the United States in the 1980s.
GoldStar Precision was a division manufacturing electronic test equipment such as
multi-meters and
oscilloscope
An oscilloscope (informally a scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying electrical voltages as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as a function of time. The main purposes are to display repetiti ...
s and industrial electronics. The name was changed to LG Precision with the merger, with many of the same products and model numbers being produced but with new branding. The measuring device division was acquired by EZ Digital in 1999, again with identical or similar model numbers.
The industrial products continue under the company name
LIG Nex1
LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd. (formerly known as NEX1 Future and LG Innotek) is a South Korean aerospace manufacturer and defense company. It was established in 1976 as Goldstar Precision. LIG Nex1 was previously owned by LIG Holdings Company, which in tu ...
.
Motors
GoldStar tractors began in 1975, as a division of
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
, in cooperation with
Yanmar
is a Japanese diesel engine, Heavy equipment, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasu ...
of Japan. In 1977, they began cooperation with
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
of Italy, and in 1983, was acquired by GoldStar. Both companies, Lucky Chemicals and Goldstar Co. Ltd, merged and formed Lucky-Goldstar in this year. That same year, they began cooperation with
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by YatarÅ Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
, and re-established cooperation with Fiat in 1984.
Tractors were sold under the GoldStar and Fiat-GoldStar brands. Fiat-GoldStar was a brand of tractors sold in cooperation with the Fiat company of Italy. The Fiat-GoldStar name was discontinued when GoldStar changed its corporate name to LG Cable.
Other products
GoldStar also produced some models of
computer monitors
A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a visual display, support electronics, power supply, housing, electrical connectors, and external user controls.
The ...
and
optical disc drive
In computing, an optical disc drive is a disc drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives can only r ...
s.
See also
*
LG Tractors
LG Tractors was a division of LG Cable. The group of companies were formerly known as GoldStar Cable.
It is part of the LG Group. In 2005, LG Cable split off and became a separate company, taking the name LS Cable.
The tractor division began i ...
*
LS Tractors
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstar
LG Electronics
Home appliance manufacturers of South Korea
Electronics companies established in 1958
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2002
2002 disestablishments in South Korea
South Korean companies established in 1958
Radio manufacturers