The Samil Foundation was established in April 1959 and held the first Samil Prize Awards Ceremony and Scholarship Ceremony on March 1, 1960. Mr. Lee Jeong-lim and Mr. Lee Jeong-ho, who founded Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co., Ltd., established the Samil Foundation, which was the first public interest foundation in Korea aiming to provide education programs and scholarships to young leaders in academia, the arts, technology, and industry, who would help rebuild the nation from the ashes of the Korean War (1950-1953).

The Republic of Korea was less than two years old when the Samil Foundation was founded in 1959, and only five years had passed since the nation was officially divided into North Korea and South Korea by the peace armistice ending the Korean War. At that time, the people were rallying to rebuild the nation in the midst of severe post-war political crisis and economic collapse. The driving force behind this was the spirit of the March First Independence Movement – the very spirit that fueled 36 years of resistance to Japanese colonial rule and which the Samil Foundation was established to remember and commemorate. The founders, who were playing a major role in reconstruction of the nation’s economy, based the Samil Foundation on this spirit, taking the long view of reconstructing and industrializing the nation by promoting academics and culture.

As the first academic and cultural foundation in Korea, the Samil Foundation has been honored to recognize 288 outstanding individuals in academics (the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences), art, and technology and engineering, including through the latest 66th Samil Prize Awards in 2025. In the early years of the Foundation’s existence, postmen, lighthouse keepers, railroad workers, and other industrial workers were also selected and awarded annually, and in recent years, special awards have been given to individuals and organizations that have contributed to raising the spirit of the March First Movement, which is fading from the national memory. The Foundation also supports social welfare programs in line with the spirit of the March First Independence Movement. Another important project of the Samil Foundation is the scholarship program for the education of Korea’s next generations. In the nearly 60 years since establishment, we have selected and awarded scholarships to a total of more than 12,000 students. They are now making significant contributions as pillars of national development in all every walk of life.
In conjunction with the Samil Prize and scholarship programs, we publish and distribute excellent books in collaboration with Gimm-Young Publishers as part of the “Good Morning Good Night” series to encourage teenagers and adults to read more. We also support DAISY-format files for the visually impaired, and the Asan Multicultural Mothers’ School, which provides educational programs for mothers of multicultural families.

The Samil Foundation is financially supported by Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co., Ltd. (Chairman: Lee Sun-gyu), which share the founders. Thank you all for your generous support.

Thank you.