What drives single mothers in South Korea to abandon their babies?
Park Da Hoon was 25 when she became pregnant and her boyfriend left her. She hid her pregnancy from her colleagues and parents, and gave birth in a hospital alone. Park says her family would have made her abort the baby. Abortion is illegal in South Korea unless under exceptional circumstances, but an estimated 300,000 cases take place every year.
Soon after childbirth, Park left her baby at a church in Seoul.More than 500 other desperate mothers have done so since 2009, after the pastor, Lee Jong Rak, set up a baby drop box in response to news of many abandoned newborns. He offers the mothers counselling and gives their babies temporary refuge.
Seen as irresponsible and unreliable, single mothers like Park suffer social discrimination. She even lost her job for "not fitting in with company values".
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