光
- light, radiance, brilliance;
Etymology
Pictograph: In oracle bone script, depicts a person kneeling and holding a torch or firebrand aloft, symbolizing the act of giving light.
Later stylized into the modern form, where the upper element suggests flame and the lower part a person or body.
Originally meant visible light or radiance, then extended to metaphorical senses like glory, honor, brilliance.
Semantic range:
- literal: light, brightness, illumination;
- metaphorical: glory, honor, brilliance, reputation;
- grammatical (Classical Chinese): resultative complement meaning completely, entirely (e.g., “吃光” = to eat up, consume all).
Usage in Korean
光明 (광명) — bright light, enlightenment
栄光 (영광) — glory, honor
光復 (광복) — restoration of light, national liberation
光輝 (광휘) — radiance, splendor
日光 (일광) — sunlight
光年 (광년) — light-year
光榮 (광영) — glory, honor
Additional notes
In Buddhist texts, 光 often symbolizes wisdom and enlightenment, the radiance of the Buddha’s compassion.
In Confucian and Daoist literature, it can denote the brilliance of virtue or the light of moral clarity.
In modern Korean history, 光 is notably associated with “광복 (光復)” — the recovery of national independence in 1945, literally “restoration of light.”