the drop box film

I had heard of the film over a year ago and even blogged about it, but mostly forgot about it until a trailer showed during the previews for "Patterns of Evidence: Exodus" (which was also an incredible film that I highly recommend). I teared up during the trailer, so when Alan and I decided to see the film, I told him to prepare for me sobbing my eyes out.

When we took our seats in the theater, Alan said that he wasn't expecting me to sit through the entire thing, and I almost walked out a few minutes into the film because I was crying so hard. The film was absolutely heartbreaking and I think it was particularly hard for me because I could sort of put myself in some of those children's places. I think I cried the hardest when the bell rang at the beginning and everyone is swarming around the new arrival, when they read some of the letters that the birth mothers left with their babies, and when they talked about the unwanted babies and the issues that a child conceived out of wedlock can cause for a young mother--especially since my own biological mother was a minor.

At the end of the film, a link to the website was included to encourage people to donate and support adoptive families around them. And I totally believe that Pastor Lee needs financial support to create a better environment for those he loves. But I also believe that the baby box is a symbol, a symptom, of a much larger issue, the root of which is the lack of support that young, single Korean mothers face. If more programs existed (or if they received more publicity, as I know that some exist but I can't find the links at the moment), then perhaps these young women would know that suicide or abandonment aren't their only options. However, I also realize that even the support of a program is probably not enough to counter the pressures an expecting woman would face at home.

Overall, the experience was enlightening but incredibly heavy. And I hope it spurs more people to action.