Oli London Receives Backlash For Self-Identifying As A Korean And For Vandalizing The Korean Flag
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British influencer Oli London has had their fair share of criticisms, as they continue to make headlines for different controversial situations. Their most recent news, however, has offended people all over the internet. What is it, you may ask? Well according to Oli London’s most recent update, they have become an “official Korean.”
Oli London, who now identifies as non-binary, came to fame when they appeared on numerous different talk shows to profess their love for BTS and more specifically, their love for Jimin. The influencer shocked the world when it was revealed that they had spent over $150,000 on cosmetic procedures to look like the BTS member.
Their love confession for BTS and the BTS member has always been controversial, as netizens believe that Oli London overstepped numerous boundaries. They once shared with Dr. Phil that people called them Jimin due to their “identical” looks.
When I was in Korea everyone calls me Jimin I’m walking down the street. Everyone, they think I’m Jimin.
— Oli London during a 2020 interview with Dr. Phil
The influencer also received enormous backlash when they pulled a suicide prank after they had left a “suicide note” onto their Instagram account. The social media platform took this seriously, going as far as memorializing Oli London’s account before they came out to reveal it was all a ploy to gain media attention.
In light of all of their former controversies, Oli London has found themself in the center of public scrutiny, once again. On June 18, the British influencer took to their Twitter account to come out as a “non-binary person who identifies as Korean.” Not only was Oli London’s new Korean identity problematic, but their photo of a distorted Korean flag was also received poorly.
This is my new official flag for being a non-binary person who identifies as Korean. Thank you for the overwhelming support it was so hard for me to come out as Them/they/kor/ean
⚧ #olilondon #nonbinary pic.twitter.com/5uJp2dBQU5
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 18, 2021
While many supported Oli London’s new identification as a non-binary person, they could not support their sudden announcement as a Korean since the influencer is British. Following their announcement, they proclaimed their new “identity” numerous times with several different tweets.
l Love being Korean
#olilondon
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 23, 2021
They also shared this tweet that proclaimed their “official” Korean status.
I’m officially KOR/EAN
#korenboy
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 18, 2021
Oli London even went a as far as offering “2 years of [their] time to the Korean government” for the military service that is required of all male Korean citizens.
I’m offering 2 years of my time to the Korean government to do military service for Korea, if they make me a full time citizen of their great country
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 23, 2021
Oli London’s photo of the alleged Korean pride flag also quickly became the center of controversy. Many claimed that they had taken the original Korean flag and distorted it with the different colors. The Korean flag, like many others around the world, holds deep and symbolized meanings for each of the flag’s parts.
Netizens were quick to call Oli London out on their sudden racial shift, as well as the vandalization of the Korean flag. This Twitter user spoke out on Oli London’s “disrespect” towards Korean people, as well as non-binary people.
Another user supported the influencer’s decision to come out as a non-binary person, but not for their sudden racial identity change.
This particular twitter user also agreed with the above comments.
Another called out the influencer for “playing” with the Korean flag and Oli London’s “audacity to change it.”
In the midst of the extreme backlash, Oli London defended their actions by claiming that the distorted flag was the official Korean LGBTQ flag, but this proves to not be the case.
Yonhap News previously reported on the 2018 Pride Parade in South Korea and with it, they included a photo of participants at the parade waving the Korean pride flag. However, the actual Korean pride flag that was photographed at the parade looked noticeably different than the photo Oli London included in their tweet.
And even though Oli London continues to get called out for their “Asian fishing,” they don’t seem to be backing down any time soon. What do you all think about the issue?
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