[Column] “Zoloft” on a Post-it

By Wonsuh Song

There is a vivid memory from my past. In the early 1990s, a relative who had emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1980s visited Korea and handed me some 3M stationery—Post-its and Post-it Flags. These were rare in Korea at the time, and I treasured them as special items. Among them, I had a large stack of Post-its marked “Zoloft.” Without knowing what it meant, I decorated my textbooks and used them for study.

Only recently did I realize that “Zoloft” was actually the brand name of Pfizer’s antidepressant sertraline. Now widely prescribed in Korea as well, it was already heavily promoted in the United States more than 30 years ago. What I had thought of as a simple stationery freebie was, in fact, part of a massive pharmaceutical campaign—a glimpse into the broader reality of mental health care in America.

The truth is that American society has long confronted depression. While media and advertising often portray cheerful, smiling people, behind the façade are countless individuals struggling with mental illness. Depression is not a rare affliction of a select few but a “cold of the mind” that anyone may experience.

Today, even in Korea, more young people are prescribed such medications amid academic and social pressures. With the rise of social media, we are constantly exposed to others’ “highlight reels,” amplifying feelings of inadequacy and loss. This culture of comparison makes depression an ever more universal challenge.

Looking back, that Post-it given to me by a relative studying nursing in the U.S. carried more meaning than I ever realized. Depression is not confined by nationality—whether in Korea, Japan, or the U.S., it is a shared struggle. The important step is not to hide it in shame but to treat it and learn how to live with it. The unfamiliar name printed on those Post-its now speaks to me clearly: we must build a healthier society, one where mental suffering can be spoken of naturally and addressed with compassion.

Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)

Full-time Lecturer, Shumei University / NKNGO Forum Representative