A gwaebul is a large-scale painting of an image of a Buddha measuring from a few to tens of meters in height. Such gwaebul paintings were hung outside a temple hall to be viewed by crowds at outdoor Buddhist rituals, including Buddha’s birthday, yeongsanjae (Vulture Peak ritual), yesujae (premortem death ritual), and suryukjae (Water-and-Land ritual). The precise origins of the tradition are unknown, but it is believed that these paintings may have been created in great quantities for the large-scale rituals for consoling the souls of the deceased after the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and the second Manchurian Invasion (1636).

From 1985 through 2001, the Artistic Heritage Division (former Art and Craft Division) of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) conducted a comprehensive investigation into fifty-three gwaebul paintings held at temples across the country. This long-term project produced important materials for the study of Buddhist painting and supported the registration of gwaebul paintings as state-designated cultural heritage by illuminating their significance. The findings of this investigation can be found in research reports on gwaebul (I–III).

The Korea Heritage Service performed a detailed survey on large-scale Buddhist paintings starting in 2015 together with the NRICH and Sungbo Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. This survey continued for ten years until 2024 as it documented and systematically managed original information about gwaebul paintings held at temples throughout the country and in private collections based on scientific analysis.

Currently, 120 gwaebul paintings are known to have survived (seven national treasures, fifty-five treasures, twenty-six municipal or provincial tangible cultural heritage items, two municipal or provincial cultural heritage materials, nine state-designated heritage items, and twenty-one non-designated items).

※ Preparatory Drawing for the Vulture Peak Assembly Gwaebul at Gaeamsa Temple is not included in the total.