A hanging Buddhist painting of Maitreya Buddha at Muryang Temple in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, will be designated as a national treasure. 

The Korea Heritage Service announced on Thursday that the painting is being reclassified as a national treasure, some 28 years after being designated a treasure.

Measuring nearly 14 meters long and about seven-point-five meters wide, the painting is considered unique not only due to its size but also because it expresses diverse Buddhist iconography, unlike the Buddhist paintings of other countries. 

Hanging Buddhist paintings like it were steadily produced between the 17th and 20th centuries and currently number some 120, of which seven are national treasures and 55 are treasures.