Who is YouTuber Johnny Somali and what happened to the streamer when he kissed a statue in South Korea?
JOHNNY Somali is a controversial YouTuber who has gained online recognition for his inappropriate antics.
Here we take a look at who the live-streamer is and what happened when he kissed the Statue of Peace.
Johnny Somali is an American YouTuber known for his provocative behavior — especially when visiting foreign lands.
His actions in South Korea caused widespread offence, with one member of the public taking matters into their own hands and thumping him.
Who is Johnny Somali?
Johnny Somali was born on September 26, 2000, in Phoenix, Arizona.
He has a Somali father and an Ethiopian mother, and his real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael.
The streamer gained notoriety for his disruptive antics in various countries — particularly Japan and South Korea.
Japan
In Japan in 2023, he made remarks about nuclear weapons and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which people found inappropriate and upsetting.
He was filmed walking around Tokyo Disneyland shouting: “Fukushima! Atomic bomb! Shinzo Abe!”
These comments were referring to the Fukushima nuclear accident at the Daiichi power plant in 2011, the nuclear attacks at the end of World War II, and the assassination of a former prime minister in 2022.
Somali was also filmed on a train telling Japanese people: “We’re going to drop another atomic bomb.”
Clips shared on his Kick account show Somali entering a truck belonging to a private delivery firm and dancing on a rush-hour commuter train.
His behavior led to his arrest in Japan for crimes including trespassing and disrupting businesses.
He reportedly received a fine of ¥200,000 ($1,400) and was banned from Japan.
We’re going to drop another atomic bomb
Johnny Somali
South Korea
In October 2024, Somali sparked outrage in South Korea with a series of offensive actions, most notably his interaction with the Statue of Peace in Itaewon, Seoul.
This statue symbolizes the ‘comfort women’ — victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.
He kissed the cheek of the Statue of Peace, performed a lewd dance in front of the monument and made inappropriate claims about Japan’s attitude towards the statue.
During the livestream of the incident, he claimed: “Japan hates these things. I love Korea, and everything that I did in Japan was for Korean and Chinese people.”
Somali also reportedly engaged in other disruptive behaviors in South Korea, including:
- Playing explicit sounds on public transport
- Loudly playing North Korean music on buses
- Causing disturbances at a theme park
- Pouring instant noodles on a convenience store table after being denied alcohol
These actions further fueled public anger towards the streamer.
Consequences
The streamer’s behavior led to widespread condemnation and public outrage in South Korea.
His disrespectful actions towards the Statue of Peace were seen as a direct affront to the memory of comfort women and the ongoing efforts to address this historical injustice.
Assault
On October 24, 2024, while Somali was live streaming on a street in Seoul with his friends, he was approached by an unidentified man who punched him in the face.
The assailant grabbed Somali’s smartphone, threw it away and quickly scarpered.
Following the incident, Somali appeared on his stream with a bandage over his right eye.
What he was streaming about in the moment of the assault hasn’t been reported, but he was seemingly attacked due to his overall conduct in South Korea, rather than what he was doing at the time.
The assault video spread rapidly across online communities in South Korea, with many online commenters expressing support for the unidentified assailant.
However, some voices cautioned that assault was excessive regardless of the provocation.
As of October 28, 2024, Somali has over 20,700 YouTube subscribers.
His actions continue to generate debate about the ethics of provocative content creation and the responsibilities of social media platforms in moderating such behavior.