Daniel Park
Status: Alive
Age: 16–17 (international), 17–18 (Korean)
Gender: Male
Nationality: Korean
Height: 150cm → 163cm (original body after training); 177.8cm (new body)
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Black
Birthday: Unknown
Blood type: Unknown
Family: Seonhui Park (mother), unnamed father, cousins David, Dylan, and Sarah
School: Jaewon High School (Fashion Department)
Past work: Convenience store clerk, model, idol trainee, streamer, escort
Daniel is the protagonist of Lookism, and his story hinges on a bizarre twist: he can switch between two completely different bodies when he sleeps. His original body is short, heavyset, and bespectacled—the kind of appearance that made him an easy target for bullying and earned him the nickname "Pikachu" from some. Nearly everyone found him unattractive, though Crystal and Zoe were exceptions. He used this body for late-night convenience store work, which meant he spent most of his time in that uniform.
When he woke up one morning in his second body, everything changed. He's now tall, lean, handsome, and striking enough that strangers ask for his autograph. His good looks are genuinely unmatched in the series—no one else commands a room quite like he does, usually without even trying. People constantly mistake him for an idol or model. This body attends school in his uniform and has made him the most popular student at Jaewon High, though he's largely oblivious to the effect he has.
The whole situation started when his mother finally moved him after witnessing his bullying firsthand. He'd been too ashamed to ask outright, but when she saw what was happening, she made the sacrifice. His fresh start lasted about five minutes before getting humiliated on video by Zack Lee in a fight that went viral. That night, devastated, he cried himself to sleep—and woke up transformed.
Fighting ability: Daniel's picked up an impressive range of styles over time, including boxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, wrestling, systema, kyokushin karate, capoeira, MMA, and aikido. He's also unnaturally good at copying other people's moves.
Personality-wise, Daniel's fundamentally kind and conflict-averse, though his past left some scars. He has a guilt complex around his mother, especially early on—he lashed out at her over their financial struggles, then immediately hated himself for it. He's genuinely remorseful and determined to help support the household by working with his original body. That experience of being poor and bullied also made him deeply sympathetic to anyone mistreated, whether for their appearance or lack of strength. He'll stand up for the underdog without hesitation.
His biggest weakness is self-doubt. He struggles with confidence, which often makes him seem like a pushover or coward, and it's what holds him back most. On the flip side, he's inspired by people who work hard toward their goals—watching others push through their struggles motivates him to do the same.
The downside of having lived isolated and bullied is that he's naive. He doesn't always know how to handle social pressure and can be taken advantage of by surface-level kindness. He once accidentally agreed to work as a host at a club and had to escape while drunk. He was also genuinely fooled by Yui, who seemed to like him for his personality in his handsome body—only to turn cruel when he was in his original form, making it clear she'd only ever cared about his looks.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
