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Korean Streamer Low-Key Sparks Lost-In-Translation Debate After Johnny Somali Misunderstands “Nega”

Korean Streamer Low-Key Sparks Lost-In-Translation Debate After Johnny Somali Misunderstands “Nega”

A similar misunderstanding of terms between different languages happened here in Malaysia with pop singer Dua Lipa.

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In a recent video that surfaced on X (formerly Twitter), a Korean streamer is seen in an altercation with controversial American live streamer Johnny Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael.

The video on X shows Ismael being held back by Korean police to prevent a fight, while the Korean streamer can be heard saying what sounds like the N-word repeatedly.

In the Korean language, “ne-ga” or 니가 just means “you”. Yes, it sounds like the N-word but newsflash, there are many languages in the world, not just English. Ismael, who probably thought he was being called the N-word, took offence and was seen trying to get to the Korean streamer but the police stopped him from doing so.

Ismael is also heard telling the police that the Korean streamer is saying racial slurs and that it’s not okay.

In the comments, the Korean streamer has been identified as 제이컴퍼니_정치시사, or J Company_Political Current Affairs, a YouTube channel that describes itself as a political current affairs broadcast.

Most X users in the comments are not supportive of Ismael due to his offensive behaviour while visiting the country.

Ismael is known for his provocative behaviour while travelling abroad, with South Korea being the victim of his most recent antics.

He was beat up for playing pornographic sounds on the subway and twerking on a tribute statue

During one of his live broadcasts on 30 September, Ismael was confronted by South Korean authorities for playing pornographic sounds on the subway.

The streamer had the text-to-speech (TTS) feature turned on, which meant that his fans and viewers could play any audio and it would sound through his phone speakers.

With his community being as notorious as he is, the sounds in question were described as “obscene”.

On 9 October, Ismael started a livestream on his YouTube channel (which has since been removed) where he performed lewd acts at the Statue of Peace in Itaewon.

The statue serves as a tribute to “comfort women” who were predominantly Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

The monument is a symbol of their suffering and resilience, and a standing demand for recognition and apology from Japan.

Johnny Somali dancing with his top off at Statue of Peace in Seoul. (Image: Maeil Business Newspaper)

A similar misunderstanding of words between cultures has happened in Malaysia before

British pop singer Dua Lipa affectionately called her father ‘babi’ in an Instagram post in 2018, which prompted many Malaysians to make fun of her use of the word as it means ‘pig’ locally.

Being of Albanian descent, Dua Lipa explained that the word ‘babi’ actually means ‘dad’ in her native language.

She also expressed her disappointment towards hurtful jokes made by a handful of social media users here during the time.

Her Malaysian fans denounced the insensitive troublemakers and pleaded her not to cancel her upcoming concert in Kuala Lumpur that year, after which the singer’s record label confirmed that there were no changes to her scheduled performance.


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