- Headline: "Op-Ed: Motherly Love"
- Source: Kyunghyang Shinmun
- Date of Publication: January 29, 1977
- Summary:
Dr. Albert Schweitzer once said that all moral principles in human society begin with the reverence for life. By that logic, there is nothing more absolute than a mother's love, which brings life into the world and nurtures it with devotion until it becomes a complete human being with dignity and character. Since ancient times, the greatest of all rights bestowed upon women has been the role of motherhood. A Jewish proverb says, "God could not be everywhere, so He created mothers." Such words reflect the sacredness of a mother’s love, which should be cherished above all else. To abandon it with cold indifference is a tragic betrayal of humanity itself. In the bitter winter cold, there have already been 48 reported cases of infants being abandoned. Reports also show that 60 percent of orphaned infants are left behind by unwed mothers. The issue of unwed motherhood has become a cancer in our society, and urgent measures are needed to address it. A mother's love is an instinct that even animals possess. To abandon it is to lose one’s humanity. Now more than ever, there is a desperate need for widespread enlightenment and ethical education to restore human decency in our society. In a society that is lenient toward men regarding premarital sex while placing the burden of shame solely on women, the likelihood of women resorting to infanticide, child abandonment, or adoption increases. The persistent reports of child abandonment and the rising number of unwed mothers indicate that South Korea has long functioned as such a society. (see Hee Jung Kwon, This Is a Record of the Lost Children (unofficial translation))
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