 B.C. Lee, of course, is best known for founding Samsung, the Korean conglomerate that holds such a critical position in the world's high-tech economy today. But what struck me was that he was able to build in spite of the evidence that convulsed Korea across the span of the 20th century. He was able to build something pretty special. B.C. Lee was born in the year that Japan's colonial rule over Korea began in 1910.