A headache that explodes like the finale of the "1812 Overture," a mouth that tastes like the proverbial bottom of a parrot cage, bleary eyes and a queasy stomach - these are familiar symptoms the morning after in many Asian countries where drinking away the night with the boss or clients is a big step to success in business.
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What to do for that hangover? Take an aspirin? South Korea, where corporate culture is especially dedicated to late-night carousing, has another remedy: Apply for workman's compensation.
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According to Agence France-Presse in Seoul, illness caused by work-related drinking is to be treated as an industrial accident under a new insurance system.
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Rules that come into force in March will expand the scope of work-related conditions covered by industrial accident insurance, the Labor Ministry said this week.
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"If work-related drinking causes serious health problems, you'll be covered," a ministry official said.
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If somebody has a liver disease from drinking with the boss, he or she will also be covered, he said, adding that the ministry was drawing up detailed standards on industrial accidents.
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The list includes more than a wrecked liver. Job-induced asthma, skin diseases, hepatitis, stress, depression and death caused by work will also be designated as industrial accidents, the official said.
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Until now, stress and liver conditions required a court verdict before compensation was paid.