• extensive, but most of the listed items were unavailable. Even at our VIP-
type banquets, of which there were several, the food was adequate but not
exceptional, comparable to a slightly below-average restaurant in Seoul. I
am not complaining, for our North Korean hosts probably did as well as they
could with what resources were available. My impression, however, was that
there was likely a serious problem in the North, particularly in the coun-
tryside, in both the quantity and quality of available food.^1
I also visited a department store in Pyongyang near the train station. It
was adequately stocked, though with goods few Westerners would want to
buy. I visited this store twice, but neither time was there any sales activity
or customers around. At one time I attempted to buy a fountain pen, but
the clerk did not have a key to the display case, and her supervisor could
not locate the key either. I got the impression that I might have been their
only customer that day, or maybe even that year.
For most of the time, we were confined to Pyongyang; however, one
morning we were permitted a field trip to visit a large dam project. This was
an interesting drive along part of the Taedong River, which empties into
the Yellow Sea west of Pyongyang, and along the outskirts of the city of
Nampo. The road was paved and wide but poorly engineered, and there-
fore it tended to be bumpy. We were given a briefing and a short tour of the
“Western Barrage” project and then returned to Pyongyang. Although we
were not permitted to spend much time outside the capital, General Stilwell
was successful in arranging a visit to Sariwon. He had asked repeatedly to
be allowed to make a sentimental visit to Kaesong, near the armistice line
and where he had spent time during the Korean War, but the North Kore-
ans refused.
Stilwell also wanted to see the Pyongyang subway, which we visited, ac-
companied by a guide. The subway is very deep and perhaps is designed to
serve as a civil-defense shelter, for the waiting platforms are very wide,
roomy, and often decorated with colorful ceramic mosaics or pictures. Like
so many other things in Pyongyang, however, it seemed to serve more as a
monument to Kim Il Sung than as an effective transportation system. As
far as I could determine, there were only two main lines, so it appeared that
a sizeable portion of the city was without direct subway access. After riding
the subway for a few minutes, it began to fill with people. Soon a woman
with a small child entered the car, but there was no seat available. As was
the American custom, Stilwell offered his seat to the woman, who seemed
quite surprised and initially refused to take it. Eventually she sat down after
the general insisted. All of the subway riders were surprised at this action