A British-born white influencer has had 18 plastic surgery procedures to look like a member of K-pop band BTS — and now “identifies as Korean.”
Oli London — who uses they and them pronouns — on Monday shared a series of videos from a hospital bed to show off the latest round of work in their bid to look like Park Jimin.
“Hey guys! I’m finally Korean. I’ve transitioned,” London said in one video, saying they were “transracial” and now “identify as Jimin.”
“I identify as Korean — that’s just my culture, that’s my home country, that’s exactly how I look now,” the newly named Jimin said.
“I’m so, so happy I’ve completed my look … I have the eyes [and] I’ve just had a brow lift, as well,” said the influencer, who earlier tweeted about getting work on their lips to “look like JIMIN.”
“I’ve been trapped in the wrong body … But finally I’m Korean — I can be myself. And I’m so, so happy,” Jimin said.
“For the first time in my life I feel beautiful,” they said of the 18 surgeries that cost more than $150,000, according to the Daily Star.
“I’ve transitioned to a non-binary person — they/ them/ Korean/ Jimin,” the influencer said, showing off the new “Oli Seoul.”
“If you didn’t know who I was, you’d just think I was a Korean person,” Jimin said, asking people to “respect my decision” after they’ve been bullied “for my love of Jimin.”
“Nobody would do this for attention — nobody would go through this much pain, this much suffering,” they said of 18 surgeries in eight years.
“I hope I can be an inspiration to others,” said Jimin, who conceded that it can be “a little confusing for some people.”
But anyone who has “followed my journey for the last eight years” knows “I’ve really struggled with identity issues, with who I am,” they said.
While they got some support online — albeit some seemingly sarcastic — the announcement sparked plenty of outrage.
“This is actually unbelievably degrading to Koreans like me if he asserts that simply getting surgery to make his eyes more slanted makes him Korean,” Kangmin Lee tweeted.
“Korean isn’t a pronoun, nor is it a persona you decide to suddenly take on because of kpop hype,” another Korean commentator said. “I can’t commend you for taking a whole ethnicity and treating it like a persona.”
Others were especially angered when they reimagined the South Korean flag to include Pride rainbow colors.
“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,” one person tweeted, while others said it was actually a criminal offense in the country Jimin now identifies with.
