The Babariums of Jeolla

I’d seen them before on South Korean films from a couple of decades ago: giant baby rooms, filled with row upon row of newborns watched through the glass by curious parents. “Isn’t that one ours?” They’d point. “Number 47?” “No, it’s number 48.” In a popular film trope, absent-minded nurses would switch two babies by mistake, condemning them both to a lifetime with the wrong parents. I call these rooms “babariums,” because they make me think of baby-filled aquariums, without the water.