In many countries outside the U.S., being a single mother still carries a stigma, as does giving birth to a child with physical or mental challenges. Infants are abandoned or neglected.
In Seoul, South Korea, Pastor Lee Jong Rak learned this when his own son was born disabled. The Pastor, however, did not abandon his son. In fact, he took care of him so well, a neighbor asked for his help in caring for his disabled granddaughter. With Pastor Lee’s careful attention, the girl thrived and was soon able to use a wheelchair for hospital visits.
The man himself: Pastor Lee Jong Rak.
Soon after that, the Pastor started finding babies abandoned in front of his church. To protect them from the cold and the animals on the street, he installed a drop box in the wall where infants could safely be placed. The temperature-controlled "baby box" built into the wall enables unwanted newborns to be taken in without parents having to identify themselves. (Learn more in the video above.)
In 2010, its first year of operation, just four babies were placed in the box. At the time, South Korean women who wanted to give up unwanted babies were obliged to give adoption agencies their written consent, but often gave false details or no records, and operators looked the other way.
But two years later, the country enacted a law that bans adoption agencies from accepting undocumented babies, in line with the Hague Convention, which aims to give adoptive children the right to trace their birth parents. It also requires all adoptions to be court-approved.
Since 2007, the Pastor and his volunteers have rescued and provided care to over 1,550 abandoned babies.
In 2013, 224 babies were abandoned at the center by parents desperate to hide their identities. Almost all who do so are poor single women. Even though more and more unmarried mothers are keeping their children in South Korea, they still face social ostracism and struggle to find husbands willing to accept such a past. Even employment checks often go into family background, and would show that a woman had a child and given it up.
Since 2007, more than 1,550 babies have been abandoned and rescued by the Pastor and his volunteers. New arrivals—almost 200 each year, an average of nearly four a week—are deposited covered in blood, wrapped in material, sometimes with the umbilical cord still attached.
Pastor Lee personally adopted nine disabled children—the maximum number permitted by the courts—and is also providing care for nine more.
Since we began our partnership in 2019, Grand Circle Foundation has donated $10,664 to the so-called "Baby Box Church," which has helped clean the facility; build a storage shed for winter clothes; purchase diapers, formula, and other goods; and build a much-needed rooftop recreation area.
We thank all our travelers whose support has helped make this partnership possible.
Visit the Jusarang Community Church and learn how their services impact the lives of expectant mothers and their children during South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures. To learn more about the work of Grand Circle Foundation, or to donate to the project of your choice, visit www.grandcirclefoundation.org.
