Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of symptom awareness and nursing competency on the burden of nursing care for patients with mental illness by general ward nurses. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study design was used. Subjects were 231 nurses from three general hospitals. Data were collected March 7-26, 2019. The data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearsonâs correlation coefficients, and multiple regression using SPSS/WIN 23.0. Results The multiple regression analysis revealed that psychiatric symptom awareness, psychiatric nursing competency, and psychiatric nursing education experience account for 12% of the nursing burden of mental illness patients. Conclusion The findings suggest that it is necessary to implement psychiatric symptom awareness, psychiatric nursing competency, and psychiatric nursing education to decrease the burden of nursing care for patients with mental illness by general ward nurses. Key words: Nurse; Mental disorders; Psychiatric nursing; Awareness 주ìì´: ê°í¸ì¬, ì ì ì§í, ì ì ê°í¸, ì¸ì