My outlandish assumption is that because we are contract and not salary they just don't want to deal with the paperwork and re-balancing of yearly budgets. Schools are given a certain amount for EPIK teachers and they don't want to lose budget (spent it all!).
I don't think anyone has gotten to the bottom of why we deskwarm.
ah, yes. "prepare for the upcoming semester. by the way, we haven't received the new books yet, also we don't know which grades you'll be teaching. but you must prepare well for the next semester"
1. I re-signed for a 2nd year in 2003 at my hagwon in early December on condition that I have an immediate one-month unpaid break to visit my home country.2. I re-signed in December 2005 at the same hagwon on condition that I have an immediate one-month break to go to New Zealand to get my CELTA.3. I worked at another hagwon 2006-2009 and negotiated an unpaid 3-month summer break to return to my home country and settle the affairs of my deceased father. I did so by saying i'd find my temporary replacement and did so (though the guy turned out to be a **** who used all my locked-up stuff, but that's another story).3. I took no days off my first couple of years on Jeju Island so it was easy to ask firmly suddenly for a 2-week half-month unpaid break exactly when i wanted it one summer.Know your circumstances, know your leverage, pick and choose your battles all along, and you will succeed!In negotiations, be willing to walk away or to drop demands. I have always appeared ready to do the former so never had to do the latter.
If you're in a public school, the grades you'll teach will be the same as before. As will be the half finished books. A teacher can always do more to improve. If they want to that is. The problem is the vacation for foreign teachers is so short many feel exhausted and unmotivated to work hard while the Korean teachers are off. But the expectation is they'll be doing work during their working hours.
If you're making good lessons, it takes a long time to prepare them.