A South Korean passenger ferry carrying 267 people ran aground Wednesday evening off the southwestern coast near Jindo.
The Queen Jenuvia 2 was traveling from Jeju Island to Mokpo when it struck rocks near the uninhabited island of Jogdo in Sinan County.
The vessel remains upright, is not taking on water, and faces no immediate risk of sinking or capsizing.
Passengers, wearing life vests, appeared calm in footage as rescue boats approached to evacuate them.
President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a visit to the Middle East, ordered an all-out rescue and real-time public updates on the operation.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok directed the mobilization of every available vessel and equipment.
The Coast Guard has deployed patrol boats and confirmed passengers are being safely transferred.
Five people sustained minor injuries from the impact, but no serious casualties have been reported.
Authorities plan to refloat the ferry at high tide.
Weather at the scene was fair with light winds.
The grounding occurred close to the site where the Sewol ferry sank in April 2014.
That tragedy claimed more than 300 lives, most of them high school students on a field trip.
The Sewol had been illegally modified and overloaded with cargo.
It capsized after making a sharp turn, and rescue delays compounded the disaster.
Wednesday's incident has inevitably revived painful national memories of one of South Korea's worst peacetime maritime catastrophes.