[Kim Seong-kon] How to be strong: Case of Dartmouth and Hanover

Koreans are strongly attached to their hometowns. Even after living in another place for a long time, Korean people never forget their hometowns and have a profound nostalgia toward them. The hometown is a point of reference, a place to which a person returns repeatedly, whether physically or spiritually.

However, medieval theologian Hugh of St. Victor wrote, "The tender soul has fixed his love on one spot in the world; the strong has extended his love to all places; the perfect man has extinguished his."

We do not need to fix our love on one spot only, especially in this age of globalization, when the world has become a "global village." As global citizens, we can have more than one hometown. That makes us "strong" people.

As for me, I have always considered Buffalo, New York, my second hometown because it is the city where I spent my youth, interacting with so many people from diverse cultures. While studying at the State University of New York, I also had the privilege of studying under academic celebrities such as Leslie A. Fiedler, Marcus Klein and Neil Schmitz, who opened my eyes to American literature and cultural studies.

Then I moved to New York City to study at Columbia University where I met my mentor, Edward W. Said. New York was an exciting place for tourists. However, living in Manhattan was like living in a gigantic, inhumane city as a self-employed exile. Although I like NYC, I have never felt it is my second or third hometown.

Recently, I have found another hometown: Hanover, New Hampshire, where Dartmouth College is located.

In the past, Hanover seemed to be a remote place that had nothing to do with me. Then, in 2006, my special relationship with it began. First, my son began his Ph.D. studies in psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth and graduated with the Hannah Croasdale Award for Academic Excellence. Then, my daughter and son-in-law began teaching at Dartmouth, and my two granddaughters were born at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. I have also been affiliated with Dartmouth for the past six years.

I like Dartmouth and Hanover for other reasons as well.

Dartmouth has a statue of Robert Frost on campus, one of my favorite American poets. Frost was a student of Dartmouth and later taught there as a lecturer. In the Hanover and nearby Lebanon area, many mountain trails diverge by two roads, which reminds me of Frost's celebrated poem, "The Road Not Taken," that begins: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both."

When it snows in the Hanover vicinity, the scenery looks like a beautiful Christmas card. It reminds me of another poem by Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," that ends with "The woods are lovely, dark and deep/ But I have promises to keep/ And miles to go before I sleep/ And miles to go before I sleep."

Dartmouth also has internationally well-known English and creative writing departments that have produced eminent scholars, such as Donald E. Pease, who is the Ted and Helen Geisel third century professor in the humanities. The Dartmouth writing program, directed by professor James E. Dobson, too, has an excellent reputation. The department of Asian societies, cultures and languages is outstanding in academia, with its superb, in-depth scholarship in Asian studies.

Compared to other Ivy League universities, Dartmouth is relatively small and thus has a family atmosphere. Faculty and staff members are always approachable, helpful and caring. To students, certainly, this warmth and approachability are advantages and a charming point. Ivy League universities are highly competitive, and Dartmouth is not an exception. Nevertheless, Dartmouth students seem to feel relatively comfortable due to the warm, humane atmosphere on campus.

People in Hanover and Lebanon are exceptionally nice and friendly, too. It is also a good place to raise children because there are excellent schools and little crime. If you like winter sports, such as skiing, New Hampshire is an ideal place because winter is long and snowy. Thus, it is only natural that I am drawn to Dartmouth and the Hanover/Lebanon area and feel it is my second hometown.

According to a maxim, "Home is where the heart is."

Living in various places in the world, I have left my heart in many of them. In America, I left my heart in Buffalo when I left the nostalgic city after finishing my doctoral studies. Then, I left my heart in romantic San Francisco after teaching at UC Berkeley as a visiting professor. Now my heart stays in Hanover and Lebanon, New Hampshire, where Dartmouth College is.

Although we cherish our hometown in Korea, we should extend our love to all places to become "strong."

Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. — Ed