Oli London (born: January 14, 1990YouTuber, musician, television star and TikTok influencer. He is known for his love of K-Pop and the Korean band BTS.
) is an EnglishContent[]
Oli is a big fan of Korean pop music, often referred to as K-Pop, having been introduced to it back in 2013 when he resided in South Korea for a year as an English teacher. He cites it as an influence on his own music, and his first video was a teaser for his first original song, titled Perfection.[1][2][3] Some of his channel's videos are uploads of his appearances in interviews or in TV shows as a television guest star.[4][5]
Due to his crazy obsession with K-Pop, he became a hated and notorious individual among many K-Pop fans and has also been a topic on some South Korean news networks, which his channel has recorded uploads of. However, he has also been called out by actual K-Pop artists who criticized him for being disrespectful to South Korean culture.[6][7][8][9]
Oli used to be known for being particularly obsessed with BTS's Jimin, to the point that most of his television appearances consists of him talking about him.[10] In 2020, he married a cardboard cut-out of Jimin at the Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, though in January 2022, Oli divorced the cardboard cut-out. His love for Jimin has also been a topic for several of his videos.[11][12]
In 2021, Oli revealed that he had spent $100,000 to fund eighteen plastic surgeries in order to look like Jimin.[13][14]
After undergoing these plastic surgeries to achieve his desired look, Oli spoke about his new appearance online, gaining the attention of many people. He also appeared on the Dr. Phil show, as well as appearing on E! Botched, VICE, ITV Judge Rinder, Daily Mail TV, Barcroft TV, Today Show, and the BBC.[15]
He still produces music and has even attempted to create his own K-Pop group called Kaachi. He has also made documentaries on himself, and was the subject of a German TV channel documentary called "The Beauty Madness of Oli London".[16]
On October 14, 2022, Oli uploaded a vlog explaining that he 'detransitioned' and no longer identified as nonbinary, instead identifying as a cisgender male who goes by he/him pronouns.[17] This would subsequently become the topic of many news segments and talk shows he appeared in. He would also start giving political commentary on topics related to the transgender community on several news channels, of which he archived on his channel.[18][19]
Discography[]
2019[]
- Perfection (Single)
- Heart of Korea (Single)
- Last Christmas (Single)
- Butterfly (Single)
2020[]
- Mirror Mirror (Single)
- Mirror Mirror (Seoul weekend remix) (Single)
- Troubled Bitch (Single)
- Lockdown City (Single)
2021[]
- Koreaboo (Single)
- Christmas in Korea (Single)
- Plastic Is Fantastic (Single)
- Fallen Angel (Album)
- Puppet on a String (Single)
Controversies[]
Being "transracial"[]
In June 2021, Oli made a tweet claiming that he was "transracial", and uploaded a video called "Being KOREAN" where he claimed that he was Korean but born in the body of the wrong race, and that he "identified" as Korean, claiming that being transracial was just like being transgender. He also said he was considering renaming himself to Oli Seoul (after marrying Jimin he would refer to himself as Oli Park as well).[20][21] When he was accused of racism and cultural appropriation, he tweeted "I <3 and respect Korea with all my heart. I just want the Korean people to know I will always champion our country and promote and support Korean culture always. Saranghae 사랑해 ". He also called on people to defend him, tweeting "Help me speak out against the injustice I am facing, the racism & transphobia from the WOKE MOB @seanhannity @TuckerCarlson". He also claimed that he will take a live DNA test on live American TV to prove himself as Korean, before tweeting "STOP TRANSracial Phobia!".[22][23][24] He has also referred to himself as "LGBTKorean", as well as trying to make Jimin's name and the Korean ethnicity into neo pronouns for him to use.
Desecrating the South Korean flag[]
On the same day that Oli claimed that he was "transracial", he tweeted "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" and uploaded a picture of the South Korean flag with the colors replaced with rainbow colors.[25] Many people called out Oli for this and said that what he did was very disrespectful to the South Korean people, some also pointed out that what he did was a crime that carried a sentence of being jailed for 10 years.[26] This law applies to both South Koreans and foreigners.[27]
Apology[]
On September 2022, Oli uploaded a video apologizing for his previous actions, stating “I apologize wholeheartedly to Jimin, to BTS, to ARMY and all the Asian community who may have found my obsession ‘too much,’ ‘creepy’ or ‘unhealthy.’ I was simply trying to become someone I idolized, which I’m sure is something many K-pop fans can relate to.”[28]
On October 31, 2022, he tweeted "I don’t understand why many people on social media cannot let me move on with my life. Yes I had an obsession with Korea. Yes I had an obsession with K-pop. And yes I was obsessed with JIMIN. I realized it was unhealthy and am changing and growing. Please let me move on".[29]
Trivia[]
- He is 5'9" (1.75 meters) tall.
- He used to be best friends with Frenchy Morgan.
- He used to wear Balenciaga clothing, but after the 2022 Balenciaga scandal involving the use of children as models, he burned all his Balenciaga clothing and filmed himself doing so.[30]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMBGAuM71_g
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFgLJFTI9oc
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJPi4wZ-sFE
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7iwON2tSw0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ-7xVf1NRk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGZSqf2binw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO3AXMkpI4U
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQtCFtv2cbU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dv4FAbReA
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVRiHnMMsHs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpeStBsh2k
- ↑ https://www.musicmundial.com/en/2022/02/10/oli-london-divorces-jimin-from-bts-and-already-has-a-new-obsession-video/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_MgAeIkGTQ
- ↑ https://nypost.com/2021/06/28/oli-london-identifies-as-korean-after-surgeries-to-look-like-bts-jimin/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5q6PhmazjQ&t=4s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXxNBzR7A2c
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDlGBIFVk2A
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58nY4slbfbY
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEbb207Jp-w
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fccOsafAXgE&t=4s
- ↑ https://twitter.com/OliLondonTV/status/1408906565520871432
- ↑ https://www.papermag.com/oli-london-nonbinary-korean-2653496117.html?rebelltitem=12#rebelltitem12
- ↑ https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/influencer-defends-transracial-korean-identity-in-clash-with-black-documentary-host-oli-london-channel-four-would-you-rather-bts-kpop-jimin
- ↑ https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3190928/transracial-influencer-oli-london-apologises-bts-jimin-and
- ↑ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E4j-CJDUcAQQjop.jpg
- ↑ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E4bWIRRXMAQkuf2?format=jpg&name=medium
- ↑ https://twitter.com/UndeadWarden/status/1407047381271646212/photo/1
- ↑ https://hypebae.com/2022/8/oli-london-transracial-influencer-apology-jimin-bts-korean-asian-statement-info
- ↑ https://twitter.com/OliLondonTV/status/1586870481600249858/photo/1
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAQdzAfkiH4