Instagram and TikTok Influencer, Oli London, has been under fire for coming out as “non-binary” who also identifies as “Korean”.
They are located in Britain, self-proclaiming themselves as “reality TV idol and K-Pop singer”. Their references for their pronouns are based off of BTS star, Park Jimin.
The 31-year-old has used methods such as plastic surgery and has spent over $150,000 to perfect their image. They recently altered their eye shape in order to look more Korean, their coming out story was released to his social media following and has been heavily criticized for it.
On a Youtube video that was released Monday, London states that “this is my choice, my decision.point 193 | It’s not hurting anyone.point 220 |
” In a longer thread posted by the influencer, they say that “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.point 174 | ” They even added that their new name, and in Korean, is “Park Jimin HeuningKai Taeyong Imnida”.point 272 | 1
They have shared images on their social media platforms, showing the map of South Korea and flag with their own color scheme and design. People have thrown London under the bus for even altering the original images.
Users have claimed that claiming their new nationality is insulting, and London has been accused of cultural appropriation and disrespect to the South Korean culture.
A user commented under London’s new flag saying “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”.
Another user commented in a straightforward manner, “you may fetishize koreans but you’ll never be a korean”. Oli London has not had any further comments on the meaning of their flag, but someone provided a picture of what the Korean flag represents. There is an underlying history for each counterpart, and yet there is a lack of knowledge for it.
Oli London continues to create content despite of the backlash, posting the support that they’ve been getting after coming out as “non-binary Korean”.