The story starts off centered around the perceptions people have of others, and how appearance can change that. If you're ugly, you're bullied, and unwanted. If you look good, you're popular, desired for, and respected. After around 30-40 chapters, it goes into depth about the issues of Korean society, as Lookism takes place in South Korea.

Lookism covers topics such as bullying, gangs, corruption of the entertainment industry, animal cruelty, cults, and homelessness/runaways. It even covers BJ's (Broadcast Jockeys), who are basically streamers and a common way to get very popular. Of course, this webtoon is exaggerated to make it more interesting, but this only made it even more worthwhile for me.

One of the most prominent topics in lookism is bullying, showing just how severe bullying can get in Korea. Bullying has always been a huge issue in Korea, and there have even been cases where teens have been bullied to the point of hospitalization. There are no laws to prevent bullying because they are all minors, which is the main reason it is so prevalent. Lookism covers the severity of the bullying that occurs, and how it usually targets people who don't meet the standard of beauty or are just different from others.

Now onto the characters. They all have their own uniqueness to them that makes the webtoon even more lovable. Although there are annoying characters here and there, the development of the protagonist, Daniel overshadows that, not to mention his friends around him. I initially got a bad impression of many of the characters, including Daniel, but the more I read, the more I was intrigued. Daniel and his friends start off seeming shallow and rude, but there were reasons for their actions and as for Daniel, he realizes his mistakes and puts an effort to fix them. Many moments throughout the story were enjoyable and even humorous, adding to character development.

All in all, every topic Lookism covers has relevance to the issues that Korea faces. Whether it be the dangerous cults that drag in innocent people or the corrupted entertainment industry in which some companies (in real life too) are intertwined with gang-related activities concerning money laundering or extortion. Everyone faces hardships in life and Daniel lives through them in Lookism.


BTW. Don't look at this as a way to view South Korea in a bad light. This is only a small portion of the culture and life there. It's a nice country, and many want to live there. Lookism simply shows some of the negative aspects in a creative way.