A Man Who Saved More than 2,000 Babies with a Single Box
An elderly couple in Korea has saved the lives of more than 2,000 abandoned infants with a specially designed metal box.
The ‘Baby Box’: A private safety net
In Korea, the "Baby Box" serves as a crucial emergency rescue system for single mothers and infants. When struggling mothers find themselves unable to raise their newborn, they bring the baby to this facility and place their child inside the climate-controlled box.
The moment a child is placed inside, an alarm triggers, and staff on the other side immediately open the inner door to bring the infant to safety. This system, launched in 2009, was created not by the government, but by a single individual. To date, Pastor Lee Jong-rak, now in his 70s, has rescued over 2,000 babies — and, in many ways, their parents — through this box, which continues to receive vulnerable children to this day.
Eun-man’s lasting legacy
The inspiration behind the Baby Box stems from Pastor Lee’s late biological son, Lee Eun-man, who was born with a severe, congenital disability. As Eun-man required prolonged hospitalizations, Pastor Lee spent years interacting with other ill children and their overwhelmed guardians.
Along the way, Pastor Lee agreed to take in and raise several sick children whose family could no longer afford care. By 2009, he built a formal sanctuary. Although Eun-man passed away in 2019, the legacy of love he inspired lives on as a protective shield for thousands of children.
Pushing for systemic reform
While the Baby Box successfully provides a temporary shelter, Pastor Lee’s ultimate goal has always been to prevent child abandonment altogether. When the box was first installed, Korea lacked medical confidentiality laws for mothers giving birth. Terrified of the social stigma associated with unwed motherhood, many women avoided hospitals entirely, leading to tragic instances of infant abandonment or infanticide.
Thanks to years of relentless advocacy by Pastor Lee and various civic groups, Korea officially introduced the anonymous childbirth system or the Protected Birth Act. This legal framework now allows women in crisis to give birth safely and legally in medical institutions while keeping their identities confidential.
Beyond the box: Reunification
Although some insist that the Baby Box encourages abandonment, the facility’s primary mission has always been to encourage and support mothers in raising their own children. In reality, the Baby Box serves as a vital last resort — a place that can buy these vulnerable mothers precious time to carefully reconsider their options.
Most of these mothers desperately want to raise their children. However, they are simply held back by the harsh realities of being an unwed parent, an undocumented migrant worker or being overwhelmed by debt due to their baby's impairment. By providing a warm sanctuary and a foundation to rebuild their lives, the Baby Box gives these parents the strength to carry on. Today, many of these mothers frequently return to the facility —not to leave a child, but to volunteer and proudly show the staff how healthy and happy their children have grown.