束

Pictophonetic / ideogrammic compound:

木 (나무 목, “wood, tree”) — semantic, representing wooden sticks or objects.

口 (입 구, “mouth”) — originally not the modern “mouth,” but a schematic mark depicting a binding or fastening.

The graph shows a bundle of sticks tied together, symbolizing “to bind” or “to restrict.”

約束 (약속) — a promise, an agreement

束縛 (속박) — restraint, bondage

束草 (속초) — place name (literally “bundled grasses”)

一束 — a bundle, a bunch

Closely related in form to 東 (동, “east”) and 橐 (탁, “sack”), which share similar bundled imagery.