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A white influencer who spent $250,000 on surgery to resemble a K-pop star said they want to 'look more Korean' despite facing backlash and death threats

Charissa Cheong   

A white influencer who spent $250,000 on surgery to resemble a K-pop star said they want to 'look more Korean' despite facing backlash and death threats
Thelife2 min read
  • Influencer Oli London said they've received hate and death threats for claiming to be "transracial."
  • London, who was born white British, said they spent $250,000 to look like a K-pop star.

Controversial British influencer Oli London, who went viral last year for getting cosmetic surgery to look like a member of K-pop band BTS, said the "hate" they received led them to take a temporary social media break and, at one point, to shave off their hair.

The comments were made during a recent interview with Newsweek's Ryan Smith, in which London, who uses "they" and "them" pronouns, estimated they have spent $250,000 on 20 cosmetic procedures to achieve their goal of resembling singer Park Ji-min.

London, who has almost 700,000 TikTok followers, announced in June 2021 that they identify as "transracial" on Twitter, leading to a wave of backlash. Since they shared their "transition" from white to Korean, they told Newsweek they have received many negative comments and death threats.

London told Newsweek, "Last year when I actually shared my story... that was horrendous. Like, I was in Beverly Hills, I didn't leave my hotel for a week, because the abuse was really, really bad. You know, I had, like, so many DMs saying, 'We know exactly where you're staying, we're coming to shoot you.'"

London added that online criticism drove them to what they described as a "Britney moment," shaving some of their hair due to stress. They said, "I did actually shave half my hair off because I was like, I don't want people to recognize me anymore because I can't deal with the hate."

The 32-year-old influencer said they spent the last month away from social media, posting less frequently on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

More recently, London has been posting regularly on their social media accounts and received renewed backlash when they revealed they are planning to have a penis reduction surgery to match their perception of average penis sizes in Korea.

On January 29, London shared their plans on Twitter. A number of replies accused London of cultural appropriation and racism. London told Newsweek the intention behind the surgery was to be "100% Korean."

It's not the first time London's actions have been accused of being offensive to Korean culture.

When London posted a picture of the Republic of Korea's flag edited together with the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag in June 2021, Paper Magazine reported that there was huge online opposition because the colors of the flag, known as the Taegeukgi, have their own cultural significance, according to the Republic of Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

London told Newsweek they want to "assimilate" into Korean culture by being fluent in the language, and becoming a Korean TV presenter.

In a statement to Insider last year, London said, "My main goal is to support the Korean community and all of those around the world who identify themselves in different ways."

London did not immediately respond to Insider's most recent request for comment.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

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