SMOE's teacher hiring chaos

A lot of native English teachers are already aware of the 100 people that were told by SMOE that they no longer had a job with them -- AFTER they signed the contract, AFTER they got their visas, and 24 HOURS before their (non-refundable) flight to Seoul.

Well, from the same author as that blog link comes the best editorial about the issue I've read so far; it appeared in the Korea Herald today. It's quite a good read, and hits the nail on the head. It really does make me feel lucky that I wasn't one of the 100 who lost their jobs at the last minute (although since I was officially with EPIK and not SMOE, it was possible that they could've just placed me elsewhere in the country if this actually happened to me).

But I really do feel for the 100 who did get dropped. I was actually already in contact with someone on the same boat as me (recruited by EPIK and transferred to SMOE) and we were talking about how we were finally going to meet each other in person -- and then SMOE informed him that they weren't hiring him after all.

Luckily, he wasn't one of the poor guys who were told 24 hours before the flight (he was told about a week before, I think), but the way it all unraveled is pretty scary. Because of that, I did not relax when I got my NOA. Nor did I relax when I stepped foot at Incheon International Airport. Nor did I relax when I was waiting for the shuttle bus to orientation. I relaxed a little at the orientation venue, but not completely. I didn't completely relax until I finally had some alone time in my new apartment (mostly due to the Dongdaemun Stadium co-op worries).

Welcome to Korea. Come for the job, stay for the mind games. Hopefully this is a one-time thing, but prepare yourself in case it isn't.