景

Phono-semantic compound:

日 (날 일, “sun”) — semantic, indicating brightness and sunlight.

京 (서울 경, “capital”) — phonetic, providing the sound.

Originally depicted the rays of the sun shining down, hence “sunlight.” Over time the meaning broadened metaphorically to include “view, scenery,” and later “situation, circumstances.”

In modern Korean, the sense of “sunlight” is largely archaic, with usage focusing on scenery and circumstances.

풍경 (風景) — scenery, landscape

배경 (背景) — background

광경 (光景) — scene, sight

경황 (景況) — circumstances, situation

경치 (景致) — scenery

Variant/related character: 影 (영, “shadow”) is historically a tongjia (interchangeable character) with 景. In pre-Qin texts, 景 was often written as 影.