A white influencer who had their jaw shaved down, along with numerous other surgeries, to look like their Korean boyband idol has been slammed for coming out as a ‘non-binary person who identifies as Korean.’
Oli London, 31, from London, first hit headlines in October 2018 after news broke that they had spent over £75,000 on surgeries to look like K-pop star, Jimin from Korean boyband BTS.
The influencer has strived to look like the singing sensation for over five years – and has since had further surgery and now spent an estimated £100,000 ($150,000) on 15 surgeries in a bid to achieve the dream appearance.
In an Instagram post on June 16, they, who stated their pronouns were ‘they/them/Korean/Jimin,’ referring to K-Pop star Park Jimin, took to Twitter and penned: ‘It feels so good to finally come out as a Korean non-binary person after being trapped in the wrong body and wrong culture my whole life.’
‘My new official Korean name is Park Jimin HueningKai Taeyong Imnida…I’m officially KOR/EAN.’
After a backlash from social media users regarding the claim to a different nationality, they added: ‘I am Korean whether people accept it or not this is how I identify, this is what makes me happy. This is who I am. It’s in my DNA.’
Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, they commented on the trolling and said: ‘It is sad during Pride Month, a month that celebrates diversity, equality and love that WOKE people would use my coming out and sharing my non-binary Korean identify, something that took me many years to understand and accept and took me enormous courage to share with the world – and use it as a platform to bully, degrade and dehumanise me and the LGBT community.
Oli London, 31, from London, first hit headlines in October 2018 after news broke that they had spent over £75,000 on surgeries to look like K-pop star, Jimin from Korean boyband BTS (pictured)
Last week, they revealed that they would now be using the pronouns ‘they/them/Korean/Jimin,’ – the latter being a reference to K-pop star Park Jimin (pictured)
They received a backlash online after writing a post which read: ‘I’m official KOR/EAN’ (pictured)
One person wrote: ‘I am a person belonging to the non-binary umbrella, and this offends me A LOT, being Korean is a nationality, not a gender, you are making fun of all the non-binary umbrella, the neo pronouns and the entire lgbtqa + community! really stop please’ (pictured)
They continued: ‘While I recognise that a lot of people don’t understand how I identify, and may find it unusual – being Korean and feeling Korean is part of who I am and how I feel. And I will never allow a single woke person, bully or troll to take that away from me.’
‘I have gone through extreme lifestyle changes to become who I am today and have lived in Korea, I eat Korean food everyday, use Korean skincare, have plastic surgery to look Korean and I speak the Korean language – all of this shapes me as a person and my identify as a non-binary Korean person.’
On Twitter, they posted an image of ‘my new official flag for being a non-binary person who identifies as Korean,’ which featured the same shapes as the Korean flag but with the rainbow colours of the LGBTQ pride flag.
But several social media users found the flag and the influencer’s claims to a new nationality offensive, with several accusing them of cultural appropriation and disrespect towards South Korea.
They wrote: ‘This is my new official flag for being a non-binary person who identifies as Korean’ (pictured)
The influencer penned: ‘I will unveil my new Korean face very very soon stay tuned’ (pictured)
Taking to the comments section, one person penned: ‘Playing with a flag from another country? Man. That is serious. Every flag has a history about it and he has the audacity to change it’ (pictured)
‘I am a person belonging to the non-binary umbrella, and this offends me A LOT, being Korean is a nationality, not a gender, you are making fun of all the non-binary umbrella, the neo pronouns and the entire lgbtqa + community! really stop please,’ wrote one.
A second commented: ‘Playing with a flag from another country? Man. That is serious. Every flag has a history about it and he has the audacity to change it.’
A third added: ‘You may fetishize koreans but you’ll never be a Korean.’
In a recent YouTube video on Monday, they explained: ‘I do identify as Korean. This is my choice, my decision. It’s not hurting anyone.’
Speaking to FEMAIL, they added: ‘I believe Pride Month is about love and celebrating our differences and these trolls sadly stop at nothing to try and cause me harm and pain.’
‘Just three weeks ago trolls even targeted my Instagram account, getting Instagram to lock me out of my account and declare me dead. All because I love and cherish Korean culture.
‘These same woke people who preach about tolerance are the same people who send me death threats everyday, make up false rumours and threaten me or tell me to take my life.’
‘Despite all this and the difficulties I endure at the hands of these radical woke trolls, I will always celebrate who I am and identify as Korean and embrace the Korean culture. And I will always have a deep and profound respect for Korean culture and the Korean people, who I love and adore with all my heart.’