I have always stayed in Myeongdong as my base whenever I visit Seoul. It is centrally located and you can easily get to most hangout places like Insadong, Hongdae, Itaewon and tourist attractions easily via the subway. Most local tours will have pick up locations in Myeongdong, so I just find it convenient as a base. Insadong and Myeongdong close by. Myeongdong visitors tend to be shoppers as it is close to duty free shopping malls and the Dongdaemun fashion malls. Insadong is the artistic area, with many art galleries and trditional teahouses. Some friends prefers to stay in Hongdae (near Hongik University so lots of options for younger crowd). For Airbnb, ask for GPS coordinate and/or address in Korean. I read that years ago, the streets were renamed and that may have resulted in discrepancies in google maps for some addresses in English. Research how to use 1330 Korea Travel Hotline. A friend found it very useful for travelling in ares where locals don't speak English as they provide multilingual assistance 24/7. Hope this helps.

No it is not opened round the clock but regular shopping hours.

It is a open place (street), and a lot of tourists visit this place. Must of the shops must be open

Hi Scypath, the subways will be closed that late. You could possibly catch the airport train to Seoul station and then taxi but honestly it is really difficult to find a taxi driver out there who speaks English...i had one make me get out of his car and take my luggage out of the trunk even with the a paper that had the hotel name printed in Korean! It took me 4 taxis before one would take me. If I were you I would take a taxi from the airport. At least you can split it 5 ways, and they have large black tourist taxis which the drivers speak English. I stayed in Myeong-dong so can't help with hotel, but Insadong is super cute. Parts of that neighbourhood can be far from a subway though, so as you said, be sure to get one close to a subway station, that's imperative!!

I know it is the area for shopping at affordable prices, unfortunately I do not have a specific store to buy ceramics

Definitely walkable. I did that a week ago to get back to Myeongdong from Insadong. Only took about 15-20mins. Just use google maps to help you. You may use Cheonggyecheon stream to help you along the way.

yes it is walkable, but will depend on how fast you walk and how willing to walk haha. 15 mins average.