Hangul syllable balp

It is one written syllable within a Korean word.

Its parts are initial consonant ㅂ, vowel ㅏ, and final ㄿ, a pair of consonants joined in one syllable ending (겹받침). Its sound follows Korean rules.

Hangul was devised under King Sejong for Korean speech, distinct from Chinese characters. The Sejong Sillok, his chronicle, first records it in 1443; the 1446 Hunminjeongeum manuscript explains the script. Proposals in the 20th century to write letters in lines did not displace syllable blocks.