I’ve downed some with the best of them, and years of schmoozing with clients and post-deal celebrations have led me to believe that I can hold my own on the bar stool.
Or so I thought. A recent trip to Korea has left me doubting myself and my stomach.
The other day a DCM banker chum of mine invited me to tag along on a business trip to Korea with him. He spent the days in the office while I wandered around Seoul, and in the evening we would hit the pubs.
Inevitably one of our evenings called for my pal to go for a drink with the client’s finance team. I joined them at the pub for what I thought would be a casual evening of small talk and whisky.
But Korean business culture prevailed and the bankers were obliged to keep up with the clients’ drinking prowess — might I add that the Korean lasses are particularly skilful despite their small frames.
About 20 soju shots were lined up for each of us and a few hours later I teetered my way back to the hotel where I spent the last few hours of the night cursing my foolishness and the next day nursing a hangover.
Thankfully, I never had many client meetings in Korea in my day. I’m not sure my liver would have survived.