One night he found a newborn abandoned inside a fish box, in front of his church. From that moment on, he decided that no child should be abandoned to the cold.

It was 2009 when pastor Lee Jong-rak in Seoul found himself in front of a scene that changed his life. The crying of that newborn, left only outside the building, prompted him to seek a solution that could avoid similar tragedies.

The first Baby Box* of South Korea was born, also known as the "Baby Box for Newborns".

It is a special protected and air-conditioned crib, where a mother in a situation of extreme difficulty can leave her child safely and anonymously. The goal is clear: to offer babies a chance of survival when those who put them in the world believe they cannot grow.

In the following years, according to the project leaders, more than 1,600 children were saved through this initiative.

But the Baby Box is not limited to accepting babies.

The organization also offers medical assistance, psychological support and help to mothers who face particularly difficult pregnancies or family situations, seeking, when possible, to prevent abandonment.

The project continues to exist thanks to the work of volunteers and donations.

Despite this, it continues to provoke a heated debate.

There are those who consider the Baby Box a last, indispensable gesture of humanity capable of saving lives that would otherwise be in danger.

Others believe that such structures can favour the abandonment of newborns and call for support for families to begin much earlier, through social services and economic aid.

It is a matter that continues to divide the public opinion of South Korea.

But in the middle of the discussion the same question remains: how can one better protect the life of a child when a mother is in a desperate situation?