Drop Box, The (2015)

[bunniefuu]

Before the baby box rings

It's sort of like heaven.

It just feels good and nice.

The children here are together
just having fun.

But when the baby box rings,

it changes from a place where
angels are walking around.

the atmosphere of the
house just changes abruptly.

Like a car accelerating out of nowhere.

It's horrifying.

So

at that very moment,
it becomes a w*r.

A w*r in heaven.

Lord, thank you.

Oh my goodness,
she's so beautiful!

She's not a down syndrome baby,
is she?

No, no she isn't.

Dad, who is it?

Dad, who is it?!?

Dad!

Isn't there a letter?

There isn't a letter of anything!

Why don't you go to the front
and see if there is a bag at least.

Is it a baby, dad?

It's a sad fact.

Hundreds of babies are abandoned
on the Streets of Seoul, South Korea, every year.

Many of them do not survive.

There is a thing called "the baby box."

If you're going to throw
away your newborn baby,

a church built a box so the baby
won't die from the cold.

There is a controversy forming
around this "baby box."

Many more babies are being
discarded as soon as they're born.

The number of abandoned children
has doubled in the past two years.

The mothers say they abandon the babies because it's a hard life.
And because of unwanted pregnancies.

This tragic loss of life moved a pastor to set up a way for saving
unwanted babies.

This is

where we found the
body of the baby.

We found the baby
wrapped in cloth.

I am the pastor of Jusarang Community Church,
Jong-rak Lee. Thank you.

My hometown is Geochang-g*n,
Gyeongsangnam-do.

It's in the mountains, where the air is fresh
and the water is clear.

At the time, if you didn't starve,
you were living in a wealthy family.

I was brought up with love.

I used to carry a guitar that
I couldn't even really play.

When I played the guitar and sang,

a lot of people would come
and watch and sing with me.

Since I was a decent
singer and liked playing,

how do I say this?

Girls,

they started following me.

In a small town, the rumors of
those relationships spread quickly.

I was so embarrassed that
I could not stay in town.

So I decided
to run away to Seoul.

While I was working there,

a relative told me he had this "good friend."

We first met because

my friend, his relative,
introduced him to me.

Before he met me

He was just skin and bones.

So when I first saw him, because he was so skinny

I thought he wasn't my type.

My brothers told me, "She doesn't look good," because she was short.

"You two don't really match."

So since I'm their younger brother, they wanted me to meet a better
woman.

I told them, "It doesn't matter. I love her."

I met him at 26 and married him at 27.

This picture is from when Pastor Lee graduated from seminary. And
we've been doing this work

here for thirteen years.

If you look at the pictures from 4 years ago

and the ones now,

so many things have changed.

It must be because we are raising these children.

Both of us have
gotten so old.

Pastor Lee looks
like a grandpa.

And I look like
a shrunken grandma.

So I keep asking
Pastor Lee to groom himself.

And dye his grey hair.

We're not trying to look younger for ourselves.
But because of the children,

we feel the need to be younger.

So we tried it.
I wanted him to lose 10 years.

So for our children

we still have a lot to do.

And it's a long road ahead.

It's not like we can
do this for a thousand years.

But we'll do as much as we can.

Today, Pastor Lee and his wife run a home church called Jusarang, or
"God's Love" Community.

Jusarang is known by many as Korea's home for the abandoned and
disabled.

Jusarang Community was
founded because my son,

my son Eun-man was in
the hospital for 14 years.

And children who were abandoned at the hospital started to come to
us.

That's when the children started coming.

When Eun-man was finally discharged after 14 years, Pastor Lee and
his wife had adopted 4 more children with disabilities.

But soon after settling down,
people began bringing babies right to their door.

Visual: YOUNG RAN JEONG

Hanna lived six years,
and went to heaven.

She was born with a disability.

Because her mother
consumed dr*gs while having her.

And it was more serious
because she was a minor.

The mother, the mother of
Hanna was in middle school.

The grandfather brought
Hanna to Jusarang.

Hanna had first degree
encephalopathy (brain disease).

And she had to breathe
through her neck.

It took her 2 hours
for a meal.

Because she had to
eat through her nose.

Pastor Lee and his wife went through
a lot of trouble taking care of Hanna.

However, they were heartbroken
when she went to heaven.

Hanna lived a beautiful
life and left us.

Because of Hanna,

many felt peace
in their hearts.

And there were
people who thought

"There is a child living like this.
I should not live my life so carelessly."

When we look at the photo,
we often say, "Hanna, let's meet in heaven."

And outside there is
a tree dedicated to Hanna.

We always think of her
when we see this tree.

So one morning
the child just stopped breathing.

"Pastor! Pastor!"
"There's something wrong with Hanna."

So when I went to check,
she had already passed away.

I cried out loudly. "God, if this happens
again I really don't want to do this job.

God?

Can you please
make her live again?"

I frantically tried CPR
and called the ambulance.

But she didn't come back.

So we buried her ashes here.
Hanna is with us every day now.

As I sent her away,
I made a commitment again.

"God, I will die
for these children."

In 2007, I officially started
working here as a missionary.

After a couple of years,
2008 or 2009

Pastor Lee started noticing children
being abandoned on the street.

Not only were these
children being abandoned,

but they would die
before anyone found them.

At the time, to be honest, we didn't even think about having
something like a "baby box."

We just knew that
we needed something.

Then someone told us
there is a "baby box" in the Czech Republic.

Someone showed a video to us

While watching the video,
we thought we could make something like it.

In Europe, some 700 years ago

impoverished mothers would
sometimes abandon infants,

and something called
a "foundling wheel."

It was a kind of revolving crib
or an opening, a hatch in a church wall,

behind which there were nuns
and monks waiting to rescue the child.

And in the Czech Republic
it has been five years

since a special facility was
set up for women

who give away
their newborn children.

The so-called "baby box" has brought protest, though, from clergymen
and even doctors.

Basically they've created this door
beside the E.R. service entrance.

There's a bassinette there.

And if a mother feels like she has no other choice but to leave or
abandon her child,

she has the ability to do that.

And it's a hole in the wall.

It's like a bread box with a sensor.

This is a baby box installed in the wall of the maternity hospital
of the southern Russian city of Sochi.

Over 100 babies are
abandoned in Sochi every year,

and three baby boxes
have been installed across the city.

When a hospital in Japan opened a so-called "baby hatch" where
mothers can leave their unwanted newborns,

it provoked a national debate about family values in this socially
conservative country.

We tried to save the lives of those babies because we felt they
were precious to God.

We put the baby bin in the church wall in order to allow the mothers
to be anonymous and

so that they would stop dumping the babies
where they had been dumping them

and they would bring
them to the church.

A lot of people say
that they will encourage

irresponsible parents to dump their kids.

So at the end of the day,
do baby boxes protect or harm babies?

So in December of 2009,
the baby box was installed.

After the story appeared in the news,
a lot of people showed their support.

The baby box gained attention
and we were interviewed.

On cable TV.

The cable channel asked people
if they knew about the baby box.

But they never thought
it was for saving babies.

They thought it as
"A box to collect baby clothes."

At the front gate
of our Jusarang community

before the baby box
was made

people would often abandon
their kids in front of their doorway.

If they can't afford
to raise the baby,

they leave the baby in front of
someone else's house and run away.

It's common practice.

And on the streets

We saw so many babies

Abandoned under any condition.

We were so heartbroken
seeing them.

And we thought to ourselves,
"What's the best way to save these lives?"

We thought about this
for many years.

That's why we made
the baby box.

I had a realization.

If I don't do something
to protect these children

I could be picking up

Their dead bodies
at my gate.

The standard height of a
newborn baby is 52cm.

So Pastor Lee measured the box
considering this fact.

And Pastor Lee is like..,

MacGyver.

He does everything well.

So the Pastor
designed it.

After I installed it,

I didn't expect
any babies to come in.

I prayed, "God, please don't
let any baby be abandoned in the world."

Only if the child's life
is being threatened.

Or if the baby box
is their last hope.

Then Jesus,
open up the door for these children.

When a baby is
put in the baby box

The box makes a sound.

The bell goes,
"Ding Dong. Ding Dong."

During dawn,
when it's quiet,

imagine hearing this sound.

Thump, thump, thump.
With my heart b*ating fast, I run down.

I take the baby out.

"Thank you, God.
For saving this child's life.

Allow him to meet good parents,
and allow him to live with you."

I pray like that
and hug him in my arms.

My heart drops.

When I hear this sound,
my heart just drops.

So this is here
to protect valuable lives.

Take a look at
how this works.

"For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will
take me in." (Psalm 27:10)

So we installed the box
with God's heart.

God loves life
more than the world.

He sent life
to earth for His glory.

Eun-hye's dad came to Seoul.

She has down syndrome.

Before they decided
to bring her here,

her parents thought about
abandoning her.

When we sing praise
during worship services,

she goes out to
the front and dances.

She's full of grace.

She lives a graceful
life like her name.

And there's Je-eun Lee.

His name means
"the Lord's grace."

Next one is Nathan Lee.

I named him.

He is visually impaired
and has brain lesions.

People call it
"no-brain disease."

He can't even
swallow food easily.

He wears diapers
like a little kid.

"Nathan"

He's a gift from above."

That's what God told me.

Next one is Sarang Lee.

Sarang has scoliosis.

She's healthy and cheerful
and she's doing well now.

She doesn't have
a specific dream yet.

But she say
she wants to be

A doctor or nurse
to treat sick people.

She's very smart
and pretty.

On-ew was put in
front of my gate.

I didn't expect her to walk,
but now she is able to walk.

I believe she'll also
be able to talk soon.

Next one is Da-on.

She was born as
a premature baby.

Everyone who visits Jusarang
says she is so beautiful.

Next one is
Pyong-g*ng.

When I ask him
what he wants to be, he says,

"I don't know.

Maybe a soldier...

or president

or kindergarten teacher."

He was born
without a right hand.

Ga-ul came to
the baby box in late fall.

So I named her
Ga-ul (Autumn).

Fall is an
abundant season.

It is the season of joy.

It's the season of blessing.

Also, you know
how beautiful fall foliage is.

I wanted her to
have a beautiful life.

How long has
you been volunteering?

We started early last year,
and it has been about a year.

What do you think of the children?

At first, I pitied them.

But now I look after
them like a mom would.

The Pastor takes the children
and rears them like his own.

As this was my
first experience,

I was very shocked
when I first walked in.

I couldn't even imagine this many
babies would have been abandoned.

My heart hurt a lot.

[Music] We fall. We fight. We ?? be better.

Oh Safe and well
to other ties,

'cause love is all
that binds us here. Oh

The sound is coming
from inside of you.

It's drowning out the past
in our own hands.

Where are we heading?

Fish

Fish?

To seeto see fish.

Poseidon's palace?

We're going to the aquarium.

Say hello to the camera.

Nathan?

Are you happy,
Pyong-g*ng?

I went to go see fish once.

Ahyou did?

With mom and dad.

She's On-ew.
On-ew Lee.

She's why we made
the baby box.

The drop box was made
because of her.

She was left in a box in front
of our door when it was cold.

And because that could
be dangerous, Pastor Lee

Thought that these lives
could be saved in a safe place.

That's why the
drop box was made.

On-ew! Show them. We made
the baby box because of On-ew!

So this girl managed to get
connection with our Seoul counselor.

She found us
on the Internet.

She found our
website, and

she came very,
very badly beaten

just bruised-I mean she couldn't
look at me in the eyes

she was so she kept trying
to cover her face because

her face was just
covered in bruises.

And then she showed
me also on her body

all these scratches and bruises
and red welts all over her body

because she had been beaten
by her father and her grandmother,

and had made
her way to us.

I mean she was
beaten up so badly

that she couldn't
see out of one eye

from her relatives...

pounding her head
on the cement, she said.

She really wants
to keep her baby,

but of course her family is really
pushing her to give her baby up for adoption.

They couldn't get her
to abort the baby,

so they are now trying to force
her to adopt out the baby.

Her relatives, one of her relatives
found out about the baby box

and actually told her mother
about the baby box.

And so since that day,
every single day,

her family has been
pressuring her

and saying the adoption process
is taking too long.

Just go and dump him at
the baby box and come home.

(Mom)

They say before
the drop box existed

this issue was
not a public issue.

But, there was no other
similar attempt in our country

And it is true the country was quiet about
these things happening secretly.

Even the mothers or parents
who are capable of raising babies,

if the child is disabled,

they abandon them.

The box could encourage abandonment.
And the baby's human rights

and lives would
not be protected.

In order to relieve pressure,

he says he made
a box in the wall.

Because they don't put babies in
unless they can be anonymous

The problem with the baby box is that the birthmothers leave the
children without detailed records.

One of the reasons given on the media is that because there is no
trail or record

of when that child was born,

who the mother is, the birth mother,
and when the child gets adopted,

when he wants to
seek that birth mother,

there is no way
to trace them.

The reason why the babies are coming to the baby box through
anonymity is that

In Korea birth mothers are
required by law to register their babies.

Because of this fear, they try to hide
their identity through the baby box.

But what they do know is

if I need to give
my citizenship number,

if I go to an adoption agency,
if I go somewhere to a hospital,

I'll have to give my citizenship number,
and if that happens,

then somebody will find out.

If there is an unwed birth
before marriage,

the society will view her
as a promiscuous woman.

They are an easy
target in school.

That's another thing.
In Korea, still,

regardless of the fact that the
National Human Rights Commission

told schools they can't do this,
a lot of high schools will kick the girls out

when they find out
the girls are pregnant.

So again, they really feel
like they have no choice.

It is really tremendously
hard for the birth mother

to raise that child
in the Korean society.

The peer pressure
by her friends,

non-acceptance by her family
members on either side.

Under these conditions, for them to
leave an official record of the birth

can be a very fearful thing to follow,
given the government's required registration.

And these girls,
when they contact us,

every single one,
they're suicidal.

That's their first thought.Their first thought is,

"I'm just going to have
to k*ll myself,"

because she cannot tell her
parents (if she has parents),

she cannot let anybody know.
She can't let her friends know.

She's just deathly afraid, deathly afraid
that she will have no support, no future.

One of the mothers told me,
"Pastor, I have poison to k*ll myself and my baby."

Through the phone I said,

"What? What's wrong?"

"Pastor Lee,
I went to every institution possible.

I went to all the
institutions I could.

But there was nowhere
to send this child."

And so

she said,
"If my parents find out,

my life will be over.

If my school finds out,
my life also will be over.

Either way, my life will be over,
so I want to k*ll myself and my baby."

I said, "You can't.

In order to save yourself
and your baby, bring him here."

That's the only way
I could save them, right?

Many of the babies
came to us

in this way.

This area that you see is where
a baby wrapped in cloth was discovered.

And over there,

from his apartment a witness heard
what he thought was "a cat crying."

Here, he found the baby

and reported it to us.

In this specific situation,

because the abandoned baby was
immediately found by someone,

the baby survived.

If it had been
a little later,

the baby could have d*ed from the cold.

The Metropolitan Children's Welfare Center estimates that a total of
204 infants were abandoned in the city of Seoul in 2013.

This isn't Gi-ri's first visit
to the hospital, right?

Of course not.

At first, in the heart surgery
they said his heart was very deformed.

The procedure failed,
so after waiting a week at the hospital,

he had another surgery,
an open cardiac one.

They also told us tha the needs
2 or 3 more heart surgeries.

He has a lot of health issues, so when he goes
to the hospital he visits 5 departments.

It's overwhelming, isn't it?

Please give us the name
and signature of the guardian.

It doesn't matter if you put
yourself as the mother, right?

Put me as father.

It would be host.

Wait, we can't do that?

Then put me as guardian.

He's feeling good.

Gi-Ri says
he feels good.

Abababababababa.

Abababababababa.

The parent who
left him wrote a letter.

She probably had her baby
checked while at the hospital.

We thought the baby was premature
because he was so small.

When I looked, there were
a lot of needle marks.

So I think the parents knew he was a premature baby and gave him
treatment at a hospital,

but gave up when it
became too much of a burden.

We receive these letters
whenever a baby comes in.

They're all sad stories.

Miserable stories.

I can't read them all here,

but I'll read you
a few letters

from these mothers.

"Hello, Pastor Lee.

I'm asking you
to take my son.

I, as a minor,

can't live with him.

I didn't know what
to do by myself alone,

but I came to know
about you by chance.

I thought that if
it was you, Pastor Lee,

my baby would be
raised very well.

Eun-chong is
his birth name.

Pastor Lee, I want his
name to stay the same

so that many years later

I will still be able
to recognize my son."

Another mom wrote,

"I am so sorry.

I just can't raise my baby.

I ask you to take my baby.

The baby has a disability.

It's down syndrome.

The baby needs
continuous care.

Please don't try to find me.

I'm scared and sorry
for my baby.

I'm suffering enough pain."

At 3 in the morning
5th November 2010,

this is a letter
from Gi-ri's mom.

"Pastor Lee,

I'm sorry that I
had to do this to you.

This baby has
congenital face malformation.

This baby seems to be visually
impaired and hearing impaired.

Please look after this baby.

Please don't try to find me.

Please forgive me.

I am so sorry."

Why did you name him
Gi-Ri (Victory)?

Since his condition was so bad when he came,
I wanted him to be victorious

and overcome
physical illness.

I was very worried for him,
as he had anesthesia as an infant,

because he was so small,

but then he overcam
easily and woke up.

He had anesthesia 4 times.

Gi-ri,
you are victorious!

You're Gi-Ri Lee!

Victory! Victory!

Bo, bo, bo, bo.

Try it! Bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo.

See, he listens to everything.
We thought he couldn't.

Yeah, it's in English, too.

Wonderful.

Say hello to her.

He speaks English.

Give Grandma a kiss!

Your institution is almost as old
as myself because I was born in 1954.

Really?

I was born in 1935.

Wow, you were?
You look so healthy for that age.

Yeah, I work out
every day.

And I've had ginseng
people give me.

Yeah, you should.

I'm not healthy. I have diabetes
and high blood pressure.

I went to the hospital today
and my blood sugar was 460.

They say I should probably be
hospitalized if it doesn't get better soon.

You need to be very healthy because
you're taking care of children here.

I guess that's when my
health started to go bad.

I lost my health.

Are you worried
about Pastor Lee's health?

It worries me a lot,

because right now, for this job
there's no one else but Pastor Lee.

Although it is something that
someone should step up for,

no one has yet shown up and said
they'll do this job with passion.

When I first met him,
he weighed as much as a girl.

I even called him
fish bones" when I first met him.

After a few years,
he gained some weight,

so he wasn't able to fit into the clothes
he had when we were married.

Those are expensive ones,
but he wasn't able to.

He was sort of heavy even a
few months ago, around 155 pounds.

But now that he has
lost a lot of weight,

it's painful to
look at his body.

Looking at his face, it's gotten smaller, like the old days when he
had the nickname "fish bones."

The biggest problem
right now is his lack of sleep.

But for now, there is
no one willing to stay up all night

to look over
the baby box.

Since there is no one
to do this right now,

it worries me a lot.

This week, in total,
how many babies came in?

Only this month
there were 8 so far.

This month,
today is the 8th, right?

So you can say
there was 1 per day.

My name is Molly Holt.

I am presently chairperson
of Holt Children's Services.

Our organization has
a 50-year-old institution,

Right now we have
all disabled residents.

Right now we have
all disabled residents.

I remember once
I had a baby,

and I dashed down to see
how she was doing, and she d*ed.

The nurse was holding her up
and she was dead. Oh.

I snatched the baby away,

took her back
up to the room,

gave her more oxygen
and gave her CPR,

and there wasn't anything I could do.
She d*ed.

The next day-this was at Pusan,
when I was working at ??,

the next day the director
of the hospital, a lady,

she called me in and
she scolded me,

"You took that baby away from our nurse.
When a baby comes to our hospital,

it's our responsibility,
not yours."

I said,
"Didn't you know the baby d*ed?"

She didn't know
about that.

And then I was weeping.
I always cry when I'm angry.

And she said, "Why are you crying?
It's only an orphan."

What happens to the babies
after they come through the baby box?

That's another thing that
makes my heart hurt.

The baby is initially
separated from its mother.

The mother gives up
the child.

Then it comes
in the baby box.

Then the police
are informed.

Then the district
hall takes them.

Then they take them to the
hospital to get examined.

And then they go somewhere
called a temporary shelter.

And then when spaces
open up in the nurseries,

that's when they
are sent there.

There are 7 administrative
and institutional steps.

You can't know how large
of a wound that leaves.

I went out because the
bell rang around 2 a.m.

But by the time I got there,
the parent had disappeared.

I never met the person, but what I know for sure was the person was
a teenager,

and this child had been
born only 1 or 2 hours ago.

The baby was dropped in the
baby box as soon as he was born.

It was like a blob of blood.

They didn't even
clean him.

The baby had his
umbilical cord still attached.

I had to cut
many umbilical cords.

I cut so many I don't even
remember how many I cut.

There have been 354 babies
come through the baby box.

Only when there is
nothing else you can do.

Only when the situation
is dire and urgent.

When I meet the parents,
about 60% are teenagers.

The ones who
can't do anything,

those people end up here
asking to save a life.

So through the baby box,
a baby this young,

this baby couldn't have been
more than 1-2 hours ago.

It's very cold during this time.
The weather was really cold.

If they were just abandoned,
they would have surely d*ed.

Where are you guys going?

Taekwondo!

Brother,
you're being filmed.

You're going to be
in a movie too.

This jacket

This?

Yes.

The taekwondo master
gave it to me as a gift.

Among the members
of my taekwondo gym,

Ruri has been here
the longest time.

He's been here 3 years.
He's the 4th grade of taekwondo.

Even though he is missing
fingers and toes

because of big surgeries,

he's better at taekwondo
than any of the "normal" kids.

And when he grows up,

I really think he's
going to have the ability

to teach taekwondo
to his friends.

We at my taekwondo
gym all love him.

Should I say it
in English?

No.

My name is Ruri Lee.
I'm in third grade,

which is 10 years old.

Now you
know that.

I go to Won-Shin
Elementary School.

When I was in third grade,
there were tons of new friends.

I was so embarrassed
because of my fingers.

It was spring
at the time,

and you know those gloves
that ventilate air well?

Well, I wore them,

and I did it because
if I showed them my fingers,

the kids would
make fun of me.

So I used
to hide them.

During PE class we were
playing dodge ball.

I really didn't want to use my fingers,

but I had to join
the dodge ball game.

I was one of the
last people left.

I intentionally went
forward to get hit,

but they wouldn't hit me.

I asked why they
weren't throwing at me.

They said they didn't hit me
because I am "a disabled."

They said I wouldn't be able to
catch the ball anyway because of my fingers.

"It's no fun,
"they said.

So back then
I hated going to school.

They teased me,

cursed at me,

and outcasted me.

So I didn't want
to go to school.

At the beginning of
the second semester

we had a
student council election,

and the kids elected
me as president!

I asked them why they elected me
even though I'm "a disabled."

"You're good at sports
and everything else,

so that's why we chose you
as our president."

And from that point on,
all my bad memories,

my frustrations, my sorrows
from the past were gone.

Even to this day
I appreciate those friends.

And that's the
end of my story.

[Music]

Go on lay your troubles down.
Set your feet on solid ground.

Peace deep as I have found.
I want to follow you.

Come on all you
weak and weary.

Come 'round now
if you can hear me.

Poor, sick and God-fearing,
I want to follow you.

I want to follow you.

Leave all your trouble,
leave all your sorrow.

Set down your burden
and come on and follow.

Come on heavy-laden.
Don't wait for tomorrow.

Come on my brother.
Come on and follow.

I always thought it was only the other children that were adopted,
and not me.

The moment I heard it,
I was really sad.

I thought I was
my mom and dad's son.

But now that
I think back,

I'm not that
sad anymore.

Although I don't know
who my biological parents are,

I think that the parents
who have raised me until now

are my real parents.

And about the reason I
want to inherit my dad's work,

if I do inherit it,
that's okay.

But if I choose not to,
all my dad's work would disappear.

So I will be handed
the effort my dad put in

and I will add
my own effort

and I will eventually pass
it down to my own child.

My son's name is
Eun-man Lee.

He is 26 years old,

and he has been lying
daown his whole life.

In my dream,

someone had two
babies wrapped up.

He asked if this one was mine,
and he handed me the baby.

The baby looked gorgeous.

I looked at the baby and said,
"This is not mine."

I also told him mine's not
pretty like this one, but ugly.

Then he gave me another one.
This baby looked ugly.

I told him that
this one was mine.

Then I woke up and thought
that was a strange dream.

Are you speaking with us
through your eyes?

Brother!

Look at me.

Look at him.

Ruri.

What?

Your brother.
Pray a lot for your brother.

Okay.

I'll pray a lot.

Eun-man, they're asking you
to smile for them.

They are asking you
to smile once.

You need to
smile bigger.

Are you grinning?

Smile once.
Grin once.

Give them a
million dollar smile.

Until my daughter was six,
we had a normal family.

Living happily.

When she was six,

we had Eun-man,
my second child.

So when the baby came out
and was held up,

he had a lump on his cheek
the size of his face.

The lump was
dangling from his face.

When I first met Eun-man
at the hospital that I work at,

I had seen
many patients,

and although I saw many
with strange physical deformations,

I was shocked when
I saw Eun-man.

I thought to myself,
how could a person live with those conditions?

They said
even if he lives

he will be in
a vegetative state.

He would only be able
to blink his eyes.

He wouldn't be able to do
anything but lie on his bed.

I sold my house

to pay the medical bill.

I didn't have a
house at that time.

The hospital was
our home.

We, our family of four,
lived in the ward.

Eun-man, what is your sister's name?
Ji-young!

Eun-man's sister.

So while we were growing up together, there were many sick kids,
including Eun-man.

So I had the desire to study.
I wanted to study social welfare.

I wanted to help those children,
which is why I also studied nursing.

So that's what
I'm doing now.

Raising this child,
how could Pastor Lee and his wife

adopt more
disabled children?

I couldn't believe it.

I am a teacher at a school
for children with disabilities,

so I meet children with many
different types of disabilities.

But here at
Jusarang Community Church

there are children who have
much worse disabilities,

and who have

more heartbreaking stories.

Specifically, the work that
Pastor Lee does at Jusarang

is taking care of disabled children
or babies of single mothers

who have been thrown away
or are on the verge of death.

Pastor Lee is
working to protect life,

because people don't do
this kind of work.

I think what he
is doing is very special.

In this dangerous world,
if disabled children get abandoned

or the parents can't
take care of them,

we try to provide a place where
these unwanted babies can be abandoned safely.

Then the doctor
called me outside

and told me my daughter
had down syndrome.

I was so upset.

Of course I was!

Because we
never thought

that this could
happen to us.

In today's world,

it's extremely difficult
to raise a disabled child.

They get looked
down upon,

sneered at,

shunned,

ignored.

If a disabled baby
is born,

one of the parents has to
stay with that child all the time.

I hope she
lives healthily.

Her daddy

I hope she
dies before me,

because there is no one
to take care of her after I die.

I'm sorry.

There are children who rely on the help of others to survive their
entire life.

Many people think it is better for them to go to heaven as quickly
as possible,

because life on Earth would be
too difficult for them.

But God

sent them to the
Earth with disabilities.

They're not the
unnecessary ones in the world.

God sent them to
Earth with a purpose.

Disabled children teach
many people,

change many people,

and help people reflect
upon themselves,

which is why
they are the educators of society.

Even these deficient,
feeble children,

these really
weak children

live with smiles
on their faces.

While raising
Eun-man,

no matter how difficult
life gets at times,

we never faced any
major troubles in our life.

Whenever we're around other people,
we're always happy and cheerful.

When Eun-man
was born,

I asked God
at that moment

"Why?"

Why did He give me
"that kind of baby"?

Why didn't He give me a
healthy baby?

That thought immediately
came to my mind.

But it wasn't even 30
seconds before I repented,

"God, I am sorry.
Thank you for giving him to me."

So step by step, with faith,
prayer and His words,

I lived.

That's how I
started this work.

There's a voucher system for
the bedridden disabled people,

where they send teachers
to keep them company.

So these teachers
would come

to sing and read
to Eun-man,

but now because of the
issue regarding the baby box

they completely
cut us off.

They stopped everything.

Do you fear that children will die
without the baby box?

Of course I do.

If you look at
the current situation,

without the
baby box,

many children
would be dying.

That's a really
scary thought.

Sometimes I
have nightmares.

The lives of the
newborn babies

and the babies that have
not yet been born,

if the country could safely
protect their lives,

then of course
I would take down the baby box.

But if that's not the case,

I'll need to put my life on the line
to save these babies' lives.

How could I abandon those babies
and take down the baby box?

I can't do that.

We consider the baby
boxes are dangerous

because they don't uphold
children's rights or parents' rights.

And it will be, I think over time,
seen as an ancient practice

that is unacceptable and not really
part of the 21st century.

In Westchester County
a teenager was arrested

after police say she
delivered her premature baby

in her high school's bathroom
and threw it in the trashcan.

I responded to
a call of a baby not

breathing and I found
a young baby wrapped up

in a plastic bag inside of
a building, an Albertson's.

In August, a baby girl was
spotted in a river in Fuhjo.

She had drowned.

Police say she had
undergone an operation

and they suspect she was
given up by her parents.

A newborn was found dead
in a dust heap in Nanjing

with his umbilical cord
still attached.

in an apartment building
in Ninwah.

called firefighters after hearing the baby
crying in a fourth-floor bathroom.

Firefighters attempting to pull
the baby out of the pipe failed,

so rescuers sawed away
a section of the 4-inch diameter pipe

with the baby
still inside

and took him to
a local hospital.

We hear the story
far too often;

babies abandoned or k*lled
just hours after their birth.

There is a law that
gives mothers an option.

While the law is more than
ten years old,

its supporters say
it needs more attention.

Logos just like
this one

can be found at more than
50 fire stations

throughout Fresno County,

along with hospitals.

It means that each location
is a safe surrender site

where mothers can
surrender their newborns,

no questions asked.

Right, but I think this also
brings up the question,

does this encourage then
for people to abandon their children?

I think it is especially important
to have in mind that women

who feel that they cannot
care for their child

need the help
of the society,

and just putting boxes somewhere
where they can relinquish their child

is not
really helping.

We're saying we don't want
babies dumped in the river

or in a dumpster
or in a stairwell,

but the other part is we need to be a better
culture and society that gives women options

and opportunity.
I think every church,

to be honest, ladies,
should say,

"We will take
every single mother,

any girl that
is pregnant,

and we will support
them for five years."

If there is
a chance,

if it's only
a chance,

to save
babies' lives,

I think
it's worth it.

Even one year makes it
worth to have a baby box.

It's not only Korea that
has this kind of problem.

Globally, there are babies that
die due to abandonment.

That's why the baby
boxes were made.

People don't feel
he presence of this issue

because the reality of child abandonment
in Korea is not well known.

I do this because I am
experiencing the issue every day

and witness what is
happening to the children.

I can't be here
and do nothing about it.

And when these things are brought to the surface, there will be some
hardships at first,

and there will be looks of
worry on the issue,

and there will
definitely be people

who will try to
misuse this facility.

But I think that

if the
public answer

to taking care of abandoned
children is not made,

that would mean that society
is abandoning its responsibility.

While others may
neglect this issue

in which babies are abandoned
and their lives are in danger,

he does the work that
society is neglecting.

If it's protected by law,
the baby box wouldn't be needed,

and we would need to
close it down then.

Then it will remain
as a symbol.

This is what
I want.

The baby box puts
the issue on the table.

Before, the public used to only think
about the issue superficially.

Yes, because we're
talking about people,

people's values

and people's paradigm.

And it's not something
that changes easily.

We think that if we just put all
of the structures in place,

all the support network
in place,

everything will
work out.

But it doesn't always
work that way,

because this is a
matter of the heart.

There needs to be a huge
overhaul in our thinking,

in the thinking of our youth,
in what life is,

and the
inherent value,

because if that inherent value
of the baby's life is not there,

there is always going to be
babies dumped in the trash,

flushed down the toilet.

People might say,

"Those babies that were abandoned
in the baby box by their parents,

they'll probably live miserably.
Why not leave them to die?

Is there any reason
to do this?"

They may say
things like this,

but it's
not true.

Because I took care of Eun-man,
I'm here now.

I started
this job.

Now,
look at it.

Through Eun-man,

I learned about the
dignity of valuable life.

Through Eun-man, I felt a calling
to make these children happy.

What does the "drop box"
or "baby box" symbolize?

Life.

The baby box is
the protection of life.

Also, just because
the children were orphaned,

because they were
abandoned by their parents,

that does not mean
they will be miserable.

They really can
be happy.

They really
can succeed.

They really can
grow up to be great.

If the Lord raises them, they can become world famous, great,
influential people.

Do you think there is a purpose
for your older brother's life?

Of course
there is.

I believe God made the baby box through Eun-man, so that my dad
could save more lives.

It all started
because of Eun-man

and the babies that had come
to my dad before he created the box.

They basically made
the baby box.

So God purposely blessed,
not cursed, Eun-man to build the baby box.

Eun-man is,

if you
look at it,

my teacher.

Through Eun-man,
I learned of life's dignity.

Through Eun-man,

I learned that life is
more precious than the world itself.

I never thought that I
would have to adopt any of them.

I didn't think about it,
nor plan for it.

The reason I decided
to become their father was

God has
adopted me.

Gi-ri recently had
his third heart surgery.

By the grace of God,
he was victorious.

Ruri is now in the 4th grade
at Won-Shin Elementary,

where he was just
elected class president.

Again.

Eun-man is still
lying down,

but always finds
a reason to smile.

Pastor Lee and his wife
are now raising 15 kids.

All of whom
have a purpose.