This study aims at investigating the similarities and differences of refusal speech act between Korean speakers from South Korea and North Korea. By analyzing the data which was collected from 74 South Korean participants and 73 North Korean refugees who had been divided into two groups and being asked to fill out a questionnaire and a discourse completion test, the similarities and differences in terms of evaluation of direct and indirect refusal, burden level caused by refusal, and way of expressing refusal between these two groups are compared. Through the analysis, it shows that there is a significant difference of the evaluations of indirect refusal between participants from South Korea and North Korea. While most of the participants from South Korea had regarded indirect refusal as a considerate and courteous act, participants from North Korea had also perceived it negatively. Although the uncomfortable feelings caused by refusal were similar, the North Korean participants’ way of expressing refusal was generally more direct than that of South Korean participants, which means that North Koreans use more direct refusals than South Koreans while South Koreans may prefer indirect refusals, and that may make the North Koreans seem to be relatively less polite. In addition, words being used for expressing direct refusals are also different between participants from South Korea and North Korea.