A popular YouTuber in South Korea is facing backlash after sharing videos of herself eating live seafood.
Ssoyoung creates videos that appeal to the mukbang and ASMR communities—which is to say, the people who like watching other people eat, and the people who like listening to the sounds it makes. Her videos often feature her eating seafood, and not all of that seafood is dead at the time.
But beyond merely eating live sea creatures, a practice that is common in some cultures, Ssoyoung is specifically being accused of making a spectacle out of the way the living creatures are consumed, so as to create shock value and draw in more viewers with controversy and vividly disturbing images.
According to Insider, Ssoyoung’s videos include scenes of “leaving the octopus whole and allowing the tentacles to wrap around her mouth” and coating live squids “in soy sauce and [reacting] to the writing cephalopods.”
Fellow YouTubers have begun to call out Ssoyoung for these types of videos.
“She tortures and kills animals before she eats them,” pet-focused YouTuber Tyler Rugge said in a video earlier this month. “On camera.”
Mukbang Youtuber who Hurts & Kills Animals on Camera (ssoyoung) https://t.co/32dT7M1qLt pic.twitter.com/YCIhxOALJK
— Tyler Rugge (@TylerRugge) April 4, 2020
A similar sentiment was shared by Ethan Klein, who made a video centering around the criticism that Ssoyoung’s videos don’t just show her consuming live animals, but that she appears to consistently highlight the cruelty enacted upon them in the process.
New video is about YouTuber SoYoung who eats animals live – Squids, Octopus, everything. It’s truly horrific, shocking and utterly fucking disgusting. This video I made is damn near unwatchable from the pure disgust and revulsion you will feel. Enjoy!https://t.co/sDpojDLgxS
— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) April 8, 2020
Both YouTubers pointed out that YouTube specifically prohibits animal cruelty, and yet Ssoyoung’s videos remain.
Hey, @YouTube take down ssoyoung, she tortures and eats live intelligent Octpous and Squid and various other live sea creatures. This is inhumane and downright cruel. Take her channel down.
— Scrumpey (@HanleyFinnegan) April 8, 2020
Hey @YouTube, how much fucking longer are you going to let this heinous shit thrive on your platform?! What is it with you and letting animal torture persist on your platform, whether it’s that kid abusing and killing a kitten or this freak?https://t.co/Y2pOlmMUrw #ssoyoung
— murderbits (@murderbits) April 8, 2020
Hey, @YouTube take down ssoyoung, she tortures and eats live intelligent Octpous and Squid and various other live sea creatures. This is inhumane and downright cruel. Take her channel down.
— Scrumpey (@HanleyFinnegan) April 8, 2020
@YouTube when are you going to take action? This channel is actively breaking a lot of your policies and guidelines. You demonetize quality content creators for saying a swear word, while allowing this channel full of animal cruelty on display. Disgusted.#YouTube #ssoyoung pic.twitter.com/1gYjJf78Bv
— Abu Zilhamdi🇬🇭🏆 (@AbuZilhamdi) April 10, 2020
Even PETA got involved after a certain point.
We share your concern about Ssoyoung’s channel. Speaking up is a crucial first step in putting a stop to these cruelties. We urge you to report this channel on and to let them know of your disapproval that allows this abusive content on their platform.
— PETA (@peta) April 6, 2020
Some have chalked Ssoyoung’s antics up to culture differences, but others have voiced their disagreement with that claim.
#Ssoyoung abuses animals for views.
Pretentious white people: “ThIs iS nOt AnImAl AbUsE, ITs jUsT pArT oF tHeIr KoReAn cUlTuRe yOu rAcIsT pIg”
The Koreans: “yo do not associate us with this crazy ass bitch” #AnimalRights— Evan Murchison (@evanunstoppabl1) April 7, 2020
ALSO NO I RLY DONT THINK ITS THEIR CULTURE TO TORTURE LIVE SEA ANIMALS BEFORE EATING THEM, eating them is one thing and torturing them before eating them is another.
— forfax @ 하루에도 열두 번 (@onesunnynight_) April 9, 2020
Asian culture isn’t torturing animals before eating them
— Tyler Rugge (@TylerRugge) April 4, 2020
I’m part Korean, and my Korean grandma who grew up in Korea didn’t do that shit. It’s not just a Korean thing lol. Also, just to add, since a lot of peeps don’t know, not all Koreans eat dogs. My grandma didn’t even know people did until she came to America, and she was appalled.
— Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End (@CocoDanceCrayz) April 4, 2020
Regardless, YouTube has insisted Ssoyoung’s videos are within its guidelines.
“Our Trust & Safety team is located around the glove and we draw upon this regional expertise when drafting our policies,” a spokesperson for YouTube told Insider. “We have strict policies regarding animal abuse, and have determined the videos highlighted do not violate them.”