Several years ago, I was travelling in Asia. In a cafe (Cambodia? Phnom Penh?), I saw older women talking lively at a nearby table. Curious, as I paid my bill, I managed the courage to ask them - in English and in sign language, pointing at my passport - who they were, where they were from. In accented English, one of the older women answered that they were Korean. The other older women watched as she answered.
First point: Koreans are the Maritimers/Newfoundlanders of Asia.
Second point: Singapore is Toronto and Hongkong is Montreal (or they used to be).
Main point of the OP: The older Korean woman, the sole sort-of English-speaking woman, was privileged. As she explained in broken English, they were friends on vacation abroad. Her unilingual friends watched as she explained their story.
I wondered how difficult/frightening it would be to travel without knowledge of English. Heck, I know this only too well.
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In this world, "privilege" is having the ability to speak English.