The Bed King Who Left the Saying "A Bed Is Not Furniture but Science" Has Fallen Asleep

Chairman Ahn Yusu of Ace Bed Passes Away

Ahn Yusu, Chairman of Ace Bed.

"A bed is not furniture. It is science."

On the 26th, An Yusu, the founder of Ace Bed, the number one company in the domestic bed industry, known for this famous advertising catchphrase, passed away at the age of 93.

Mr. An was born in 1930 in Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, as the youngest of six siblings. During the January 4th retreat in 1951, he was separated from his parents and fled south alone. It was during this period that he first encountered beds. While working as a laborer at a U.S. military base in Busan, he first came into contact with beds, a Western-style raised sleeping furniture, at a U.S. military field camp.

In 1963, at the age of 29, An established 'Ace Bed Industrial Company' in Geumho-dong, Seoul. At the time of its founding, there was neither proper bed spring manufacturing technology nor equipment in Korea. An devoted himself to carving wood into spring shapes and winding steel wire until his hands blistered, eventually developing a machine capable of producing springs. This marked the birth of Korea's first mattress spring manufacturing machine.

Manufacturing bed frames was also severely lacking with the woodworking technology of the time. Back then, all wood and veneer adhesives were made from animal glue, and coatings were repeatedly applied using varnish derived from pine resin. An collaborated with paint technicians to develop 'amino alkyd,' a durable and economical coating. This coating played a crucial role in determining the quality of bed frames until urethane coatings were developed later.

Ahn Yusu, Chairman of Ace Bed.

In 1992, aiming for the independence and localization of bed technology, An established the industry's first 'Ace Bed Bed Engineering Research Institute.' During this period, Ace Bed absorbed advanced technology through years of technical partnerships with well-known American brands based on its independently developed technology. The catchphrase "A bed is not furniture but science" was also created during this time.

To develop mattresses suited to the lifestyle and body types of Korean people, An laid the scientific foundation for "beds that allow good sleep" through continuous technological development and active facility investment. Ace Bed holds the most patents in the industry, with over 300 domestic and international patents and utility models, and a total of 880 applications obtained through its research institute.

He also engaged in numerous social contribution activities. For 25 years since 1999, he donated rice to local communities during Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays. The cumulative amount of rice donated to communities to date is 1,356 tons, worth approximately 3.2 billion KRW. In 2019, he donated 600 million KRW in two installments to support recovery from wildfires in Goseong, Gangwon Province, and the East Coast in 2022. He also donated 1.5 billion KRW to improve firefighters' welfare, consistently showing interest and support for local communities and marginalized groups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.