“Life” is Good

You can find him practicing backhand strokes on the squash courts, composing prize-winning history papers or orating Latin poetry, but wherever you notice senior Hojung Kim, it is impossible to miss his warm smile and cheery “Hello!”When Hojung first came to Exeter in the fall of 2009, he was an unfocused prep with chronic ADHD. But as the weeks of prep fall slipped by, Kim found solace and concentration in squash and tennis, activities that allowed him time to zero in on the moment and relax.Following his new love for racket sports, he joined The Exonian for the enjoyment of writing and eventually became a Life section-editor. He also discovered his fondness for the classics, eventually reaching the 500 levels of Latin and completing one year of Greek. Kim even founded the National History Day Club at Exeter after appearing in the final rounds for the national competition. Yet for all his accomplishments, Hojung has remained a calm and genial presence on campus.“Whether it be offering words of motivation and advice after a particularly tough match, his enthusiastic congratulations and high-fives after winning or his witty jokes and playful banter both on and off the courts, there is no end to the delightful qualities Hojung exudes as both a teammate and a friend,” upper and squash teammate Philip Chang said. “He has brightened my days, at practice and seeing him around campus, and has added an immense amount of spirit, not to mention talent, to the squash team.”Although Hojung has developed a spirited and pleasant charisma at Exeter, it was not always so, and he struggled considerably after first becoming an Exonian.“I came off as unfriendly because it seemed like I never payed attention to people, buts it is not because I did not want to pay attention to them, I just got distracted really easily,” Kim said.But as he soon found his place on campus and discovered hobbies he enjoyed, the effects of his ADHD seemed to almost melt away as he grew into the Hojung all Exonians know today.“Squash was that big thing for me, where I realized that if I set my mind to something, then I could really, really excel at it,” Hojung said, as he picked up his guitar and began strumming random notes while offering some Chinese food to dorm mates. “[Squash] is what drove me to do a lot of the things I am good at. That was something big for me, because I had so much trouble putting my mind to anything with ADHD.”Although Hojung had never played squash before coming to Exeter, he quickly learned the tricks of the game and flourished on the team, eventually reaching the #3 spot. His squash coach, Freddie Brussel, attributed this astonishing improvement to Hojung’s dedication and tenacity.“Hojung is a hard worker, he is very driven to get better. He primarily learned here and worked really hard to get better,” Brussel said. “He is still working at it because I still see him going to play. He intends to play in college. He is a gritty player, very consistent and fit.”Prep Darius Kahan, who was on the squash team with Hojung, shared a similar view of his determination and ability to win no matter the odds.“Hojung's commitment to squash was extremely commendable and he was always practicing whether it be by himself or with others,” Kahan said. “His love for the game was inspirational and his passion on the court was palpable.”Even though it seemed like these qualities were confined to the squash courts, his persistence and enthusiasm seeped into almost every aspect of Kim’s life. Once he discovered the Exeter Classics Department, he immediately fell in love. Kim completed a whole year of Latin over one summer, which allowed him to reach outstanding levels of Greek and Latin while further developing his knowledge.“I have only known a few students willing and able to do this in the last decade and this accomplishment has enabled him to reach an exceptionally high level in Latin,” classics instructor Paul Langford said. “He chose not only to go well beyond the language requirement, but even beyond the requirement for latin to receive the classical diploma. He also took beginning greek in his upper year and did outstanding work, a testament to his fine ability at learning a difficult language at a very rapid pace.”Lower Kevin Zhen, who experienced Exeter with Kim, was equally astonished at his drive. “When I learned that he was tired, not because he was fooling around, but he was spending late nights doing Latin and Greek, I was shocked since I have never seen someone so focused on studying,” Zhen said.For Kim, the classics are nothing but a puzzle that he works every night to fix. “First you memorize the rules of the language and then you have to try to solve the puzzle,” he said. “Every single line is a little puzzle and you realize that there are these nuances to each line.”But Kim’s passion and doggedness stretch far beyond the Exeter bubble. After becoming a national finalist this summer for his history paper discussing Rachel Carson, Kim became increasingly interested in the highly regarded National History Day contest, in which students from all over the nation submit projects on people, themes or ideas from the past. Kim was so captivated by the competition that this year he founded the National History Day Club at Exeter and along with two other club members, will be submitting a project on Muhammad Ali.Although Hojung is continuing to work for the contest because of his fondness for investigation, he is also hoping to help out his friends for the future.“The first reason we’re doing this is because Hojung just loves research,” Zhen explained. “He loves learning about the past, exploring multiple perspectives and living in that time and place. But then at the same time, he says ‘It’s time for you boys to get into college.’”But no matter what challenge or project Hojung is facing, he addresses it with his classic determination and eagerness, all while remaining a fun, mellow person to be around.“If I could describe Houng in one word, it would just be passionate,” Zhen said. “Hojung is just this man, this person driven by passion. He can get pretty deep, and he is a great friend.”