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British influencer goes under the knife to look like K-Pop star
London said they had been struggling with an identity crisis for the past eight years and had been born in the wrong body, as they felt more connected to Korean culture than British culture.
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YouTubers Oli London underwent a series of surgeries to look like a member of K-Pop group BTS. (Screengrab from Oli London's YouTube/Courtesy of Oli London YouTube)
O
li London, a British-born social media influencer, has undergone a series of plastic surgery procedures with the aim, he said, of looking like Park Jimin, a member of the immensely popular K-Pop group BTS.
London, who identifies a non-binary and using they/them pronouns said on their YouTube channel that they are “finally Korean” after having gone through 18 plastic surgeries that they have described as "racial transitional surgery". London has also adopted Jimin as their Korean name to strengthen their association with the group and country.
“I do identify as Korean and I do look Korean now. I do feel Korean, I don't identify as British, please don't refer to me as British because I identify myself as Korean; that’s just my culture, that’s my home country,” they said in the video.
London said they had been struggling with an identity crisis for the past eight years and had been born in the wrong body, as they felt more connected to Korean culture rather than British.
"I've been very unhappy with who I am deep down for the last eight years, and I've had, like, 18 plastic surgeries now,” he said. “I finally have the Korean look, so I'm actually really happy."
Since uploading their video on YouTube, London has faced criticism on social media. Some critics have accused them of cultural appropriation. Korean YouTuber Anna Lee said in a video that London’s actions were problematic as they were using Korean culture for profit. She even noted how London’s music video for Heart of Korea mistook a traditional Japanese kimono as a hanbok (traditional Korean clothing).
Some have compared London to Rachel Dolezal, who identifies as a black woman despite being born to two white parents. One netizen called London’s actions offensive to non-binary people as being Korean is a nationality, not a gender. London called the backlash "sad" especially because it happened during Pride Month.
In a previous video on YouTube, London filmed himself marrying a cardboard cutout of BTS’s Jimin in Las Vegas, the United States, and accused people who criticized the marriage as “cardboard-phobic”.
