Hope Diamond: When Love Challenged Destiny to a Fight

In this true story set in 1990s Korea, a foreign mother fights to adopt an institutionalized toddler.
She’s not trying to take Heejong out of Korea but to have her join the international family she has built there.

Two-year-old Heejong wasn't expected to have a great life. She usually stood silently staring into space, unable or unwilling to smile at well-meaning strangers who visited her children's home. Meanwhile, Anna wasn't expecting to get a miracle. In a rocky international marriage, with three young children to care for, she still struggled in a country and culture that was not her own.

Then a simple photograph changed everything. For once, Heejong smiled. For once, Anna dared to hope. But could the obstacles be overcome? Without documentation or treatment for her developmental delays, Heejong was facing life in an institution. Was Anna powerless to prevent that? Or was her unique, international life actually an asset?

This is the story of an adoption against the odds –– a secret longing held close to the heart. It's a story of tenacity, hope, and devotion rooted in the love of two human souls for each other.

This story asks the timeless questions:

Do we have to be perfect to help someone?
Do we have to be perfect to be loved?

Read Hope Diamond and discover what happened when one mother and one little girl dared to find out.