Becca Monaghan
Aug 31, 2022
British influencer 'identifies as Korean,' has multiple surgeries to become “transracial”
Fox26
A white British influencer who claims they're transracial has now apologised to popular South Korean boy band BTS and the Asian community.
Oli London went under the knife 18 times to adopt a "Korean aesthetic" and to look more like BTS band member Park Ji-min. Surgeries include eye surgery and liposuction – they were even considering a penis reduction surgery.
He told Newsweek in January: "I don't want people to get offended by this, but in Korea, [the average] penis is like 3.5 inches, and I get trolled all the time. People say, 'Oh, you can't be Korean. You're not 100 per cent Korean,' and I just want to be 100 per cent Korean.
"I would even have a penis reduction, so I'm, like, the Korean average."
In a new YouTube video and lengthy letter, London reflected on their childhood, explaining how they struggled with their identity over the last few years.
They also confessed their behaviour was "obsessive," as well as "wrong and unhealthy."
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
APOLOGY VIDEO (My Apology to Jimin & the Asian Community)www.youtube.com
The letter read: "For the last few months, I have been undergoing therapy and rehabilitation to try to deal with my unhealthy behaviour and addiction to Jimin and plastic surgery,"
"Since I recently got married to my husband, who is my very own Jimin (and actually looks like him), I have finally found someone who loves and accepts me for who I am. I have been chasing this acceptance all my life and now that I have found it, it has made me a completely new person."
Some of their 30,000 YouTube viewers thanked London for their apology, saying it was "a step in the right direction".
Another reiterated: "Oli, I'm sorry the world was too cruel to you. this apology is a great step in a better life and a better you."
Meanwhile, others were critical of the influencer's video, with one commenting that "it didn't feel like an apology at all", before adding: "it just feels like we’re watching someone throw a pity party by telling everyone their trauma while simultaneously sprinkling in how much they aren’t sorry about the actual issues they’re supposed to address."
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
The Conversation (0)
x