Hangul syllable boc

It spells one Korean syllable; the surrounding word gives the meaning.

Hangul, the Korean alphabet, groups consonant and vowel letters called jamo into blocks that represent spoken syllables. This block combines ㅂ, ㅗ, and ㅊ; the surrounding Korean text shows which word the syllable belongs to.

Hangul was developed under Korea’s King Sejong so Korean could be written directly. Before it, Korean writers used Chinese characters or systems such as Idu and hyangchal, which adapted those characters to record Korean speech. A notice in Sejong’s official chronicle from December 1443 says he had created 28 letters. The 1446 Hunminjeongeum, a book explaining the new alphabet, presents the letters and how they work. Hangul appeared alongside Chinese characters before gradually becoming Korea’s national alphabet.

How do I type 봋?

In Hangul input mode, enter ㅂ, then ㅗ, then ㅊ.

A Korean IME (input method editor) combines the letters into 봋 as you type. Enable Hangul input before entering the sequence.

Why does 봋 look different from ㅂㅗㅊ?

One is a syllable block; the other is three separate letters.

Unicode represents 봋 as one Hangul syllable block built from component letters. The sequence ㅂㅗㅊ uses compatibility jamo—standalone forms of Hangul letters—and stays three characters, so it is different text.