Objectives The objective of the study was to assess the level of mental health literacy and the degree of psychological distress related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among resi-dents of the Gangwon Province. Methods For this study, we recruited 1000 participants from the adult population (aged 19 or older) of the Gangwon Province, all of whom voluntarily consented to this survey. We ensured a proportionate distribution based on the sex and age composition ratio. Results The level of mental health literacy in the Gangwon Province was found to be similar to the national level. Men exhibited a higher level of negative awareness, while women scored high-er on other factors. The seniors had greater knowledge about treatment methods and aware-ness of recovery, while the youth showed higher awareness about medical consultation and un-derstanding of mental health resources. COVID-19-related stress in the Gangwon Province was higher among women and seniors. Among the emotions felt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘family-oriented’ was the highest, and among negative emotions, sadness and depression were prevalent. The degree of emotions felt in relation to COVID-19 showed that women scored high-er on the depression, indifference, and anxiety items, and age-related differences varied by item. Conclusion The results of this study are significant for understanding the characteristics of lo-cal residents for mental health promotion projects. Furthermore, they highlight the need for im-proving mental health literacy to increase the utilization of mental health services. These findings can serve as a basis for future research and would contribute to devising more effective strate-gies for mental health promotion.