In a country without any significant natural resources, human talent was the only reliable source of hope. Koreans believed that ignorance was the cause of all tragedies, so they prepared for the future with an unprecedented fervor for education. The government launched various educational reform measures in the post-war years and, as a result, Korea's illiteracy rate plunged and the number of students grew exponentially. Korean people's passion for learning and knowledge powered the country's economic prosperity and social changes to come.