Breathe
By María Alatriste
Korea is full of meanings. Before traveling there, a colleague who loves to travel told me about the baby box he met by coincidence during his visits to Seoul, something that deeply impacted his values.
The baby box is a monitored and conditioned box so that parents who cannot or do not want to take care of their newborns can leave them there safely. This initiative was created by Reverend Lee and is located at Jusarang Community Church.
The media case of the Tultitlán baby reaffirms how interesting this life-saving initiative is in Korea. The context of this idea arose when Reverend Lee had a very sick child and spent months in the hospital. During his stay in the pediatric unit he noticed that there were many cases of abandoned babies in the garbage cans outside the hospital and at the entrance of the hospital. Due to the extreme cold in Korea during winter and the conditions in which the babies were left by their parents, many of the babies lost their lives.
The Reverend noted that the hospital, when faced with this unusual demand, did not have adequate space where babies could be abandoned without the risk of fatal consequences. This was due to the lack of policies and the social stigma of providing a solution for mothers or fathers to abandon their children without endangering their lives.
It was with this concern that Reverend Lee created the baby box in 2015. It was an idea that shook Korean values and even those around the world. Many could not believe that such a thing could be implemented. It seemed to them an endorsement of such a reprehensible act as abandoning a baby, never mind that it would save lives. Therefore, the initiative has faced many prejudices, detractors and the rejection of cultural and social values. Nevertheless, it has been successful, and since its founding has saved the lives of more than 1,500 babies. In addition, it offers support for parents to receive guidance and help in rethinking how to keep their baby.
